Lousy Stupid Goddamn Spirits
by One Nameless Author
Summary: CURRENTLY ON HIATUS
1. Whisked Away

Why hello there.

Now, if you didn't already read the summary, YES this is a self-insert. In my honest opinion, there just aren't that many ToV SI's, and the one's that I've found...well, most of them suck. The only one that I've found that is actually _really_ good is by Sylph Writer. Go check her out sometime.

So, in order to give this AWESOME game some justice, I've decided to write my own.

Hopefully, it won't suck.

Positive reviews are always accepted, but I really wouldn't mind some criticism. Also, if you notice at ANY point that my character is turning Mary-sue, LET. ME. KNOW. Or just whack me with a big stick.

**(12-3-12) – **HAHAHAHAHAHA WENT BACK AND EDITED THIS PIECE OF SHIT BECAUSE GOOD GOD IT'S HORRIBLE

Btw, if some people are confused and are coming back and looking at this chapter, yes, this is K.A.Y. I changed the title. XD

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own this awesome game**.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Whisked Away<strong>

"EAAUGH-chh!"

Gaaaaah. Fucking snowy days. I love them to death, but they need to quit making me _sneeze._

I sniffle as I walk down my street, pulling my black pea coat further around my body. Snow falls around me silently, a steady stream of white flakes landing on my head and shoulders. It's kind of late for snow, since its March now, but I'm not complaining. Snow is nice.

The snowfall began when the buses arrived at school today, and hasn't let up since. We actually had to be let out early, because of how much snow had started to pile up. It would be worth it if there would be a snow day tomorrow, but today's Friday, so there's no chance of that happening.

I stop on the side of the road for a second to re-adjust the strap or my bag, as it's digging into my shoulder _again_. Curse my teachers for giving me so much homework. I had to bring home all of my textbooks just so I could get it done during the weekend. And I NEVER do that.

Concentrating on walking again, I slowly go back to humming along with 'Overcome' by Creed, which is softly playing through the ear buds stuck in my ears. Doesn't matter how cold a day is – if I can listen to my rock music, I'm a happy camper.

I begin to walk a bit faster when I finally turn onto my rock-filled driveway. Only one trip to the garage to get the spare house key, and I'm out of the cold!

As I walk over to the garage door, I take the ear buds out of my ears and place them back in my coat pocket with my MP3. Which is kind of hard, seeing as the cold weather has frozen the wire stiff. I have to rub the wire a bit before I can get it to bend.

I pull my black pea coat further around my body as I punch in the number sequence for the door into the little black box, pressing _enter_. When the lifting door opens about half-way, I duck underneath it, grab the key from its rack to the left, and hit the button on the inside to then close the door. All in about three seconds.

You tend to move fast when you're freezing your ass off.

I run back to the side porch of my house, leaping over the two steps and through the door onto the covered porch room. Out of the snow, so now I just have to get out of the cold.

Brushing the snow off my head, I take two steps over to the side door, place the key in the lock, and unlock the door, ignoring my dogs freaking out on the other side. I have to jiggle with the old doorknob a bit before I'm actually able to open the damn thing, but finally, I'm able to open it, quickly stepping inside, and closing the door with a sigh of relief.

'Kay, so, I'm in my house. Alone with the doggies. I should get started on my homework, but…eh. That can wait. I want to play me some Assassin's Creed II.

I don't even bother to takes off my boots or coat as I make my way to my place of inner sanctum- the basement. I do take a second to pay attention to the dogs (all four of them), before heading through the dining room to the basement stairs.

I stumble at least twice due to the dogs all crowding at my feet for attention, and I make sure to open the backdoor for them on my way down the carpeted steps, so they can pee. I _also_ make sure to flip on the light switches about half-way down the stairs, so _I _can see where I'm going. Why they put the light switches there, I will never know.

Ah, giant plasma TV, I have missed you so! I plop myself on down into the armchair in front of the TV, grab the remote off the floor, and press the power button. Then, I use the wireless controller to turn on the Xbox 360 as I turn the TV to Video 2.

While the logo for the 360 plays on the screen, I place my bag, which I never put down on my way in, next to my feet on the floor. Then, I turn back to the screen to play my game. I smile when the Xbox automatically signs in to my Xbox Live profile, almost as if it knows I'm here. Don't know why it does that, though. I relax a bit as the screen loads, then scroll up until I'm able to see what game's in the console.

…Wait, that's not Assassins Creed II.

Stormie, I hate you. So much.

I throw my head back and groan in annoyance. I keep telling her to put back my games after she's done with hers, but does she listen to me? _Neope._ She just does her own annoying thing.

When she gets back from her after school thing, I'm totally kicking her skinny booty.

I look back at the television with a glare, seeing what game she left in there this time. Tales of Vesperia...that's the game that she made us drive all the way to Belton to get, isn't it? My dad ended up getting lost and we wound up driving around for an_ hour _trying to find the stupid GameStop...that was friggin' annoying.

Ah well, nothing that I can do to fix my little sister's mental capacity. I'll just take the game out and play Assassin's Creed II.

_Grrrrrrwllll..._

...Right after I get a snack.

I make a sort of annoyed 'pfff' sound before pulling myself up from the armchair and turning towards the staircase, dropping the controller on the floor as I walk (look at my lazy ass). I lug myself back up the carpeted stairs, turning to the right at the top to make my way into our small-as-heck kitchen.

After giving my cat Sagwa some attention and a couple of scratches behind the ear, I grab myself some of Mom's Asiago Cheese bread from the counter, immediatly devouring it.

Mmmmm. Cheesy.

As I eat my (stolen) bread, I'm startled when a sudden high-pitched whine assaults my ears, almost making me drop my precious snack.

OW.

"The _hell_?", I say aloud, sticking a finger in one of my ears to stop the sudden ringing. What the hell, did a speaker blow downstairs? It wouldn't be the first time that's happened around here (damn computer speakser). Still holding my bread, I give my cat one last pat on the head before trekking down the stairs again, to find the source of the noise.

After that...things kind of get unclear. I don't really know what caused my memory to fade at this point, but I'll try to stay on track.

I remember getting to the bottom of the stairs, then I looked over in the direction of the TV. I think I heard someone talking...and me yelling something…but I'm not so sure what it was...there was a flash of light afterward.

I remember the sensation of falling, then suddenly being propelled forward. There was heat all around me, and I was being tossed around like a ragdoll. It felt like I was burning up. Nothing but blue all around me.

I think I remember screaming.

Then, it all stopped when I hit something. _Hard_. Whatever I hit, I ran into it from behind, and my back exploded in pain, wrenching a cry from me. That part, I definitely remember. I don't think I'd ever felt pain like that before.

I can't remember seeing anything, because my eyes were closed at that point. I remember hearing someone screaming, a lot of shouting, and running feet. I wasn't really aware thought. All I could feel was the pain in my back. I remember feeling someone pick me up.

Then, everything disappeared.

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><p>...Yeah, really blunt way to end a chapter. Still, not too bad.<p>

Reviews are always welcome, and I would really appreciate some criticism!

**Next time****: What up with the weird castle?**


	2. What up with the Castle?

OH MY GOD GUYS I SUCK AT WRITING WHY THE HELL ARE PEOPLE REVIEWING MY STUFF?

Seriously, I can't believe I got THREE reviews for my FIRST chapter. I honestly thought it wouldn't get _any_, seeing as it's a freakin' SI fic. You guys make me so freakin' happy~

This would have been up the other day, but I had to go to a family reunion, so that threw me off track. That, and I kept getting writer's block every three sentences. I pretty much rushed through the end of this chapter, so the ending is probably a little weak.

Now, to respond to those wonderful three reviewers:

Sylph Writer:

HOLY SHET I CANT BELIEVE YOU REVIEEEEEEEEWED. I didn't think you took time out of you busy life to check out the other fic writers stuff. It meant A LOT to get a review from you, because I love FTaBV. Letha is awesome.

I loved that you loved my sneeze. I just didn't want to put 'Ah-choo!', because that's WAAAAAY overdone, in my opinion. I wanted to put what I though my sneezes actually sound like, because it would make it more realistic. And truthfully, the game actually DOES belong to my sis, not me. I just stole it because I love the game so much.

Angelic:

I'm just as surprised by your review! I've always seen you putting in a review for FTaBV, and I think some of them are pretty funny. Thanks sooooo much for reviewing!

And don't worry about how my character got into the story, btw. I WILL BE REDOING THAT. I just couldn't come up with anything better at the time, because I suck.

Also, just to clear that up, my character IS an OC character. She just looks kind of like me because when I came up with her, I was in 7th grade. I've changed some aspects of her appearance since then, but…she still looks like me. Which is kind of annoying.

And YES, the title DOES mean 'This New Dream', and thank you for noticing. I just figured that it would sound cooler in Japanese, so I wrote it like that. XD

TLTL:

I also thank you for your review, however short it was. And Creed is awesome. Don't know why most people hate them so much.

For anyone wondering what my character will look like, go ahead and take a look at my deviantART page. I have a picture up there of her. You can get to it by my homepage link, or just typing in the same username that I have here. That's how you can usually find me.

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own ToV, nor do I own Zaphias Castle. It would be awesome if I did, though**.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: What up with the Castle?<strong>

…Ow.

No, seriously, OW. Agh, my freakin' head…what the hell happened? Did someone whack me with a bat, or something? 'Cuz that's what it feels like. Actually, it feels like every part of me got whacked by something. God, I'm achy all over! What the hell is going on?

Okay, let's think about this. Now, what's the last thing I remember? I was at home, definitely remember that. I was downstairs trying to play Assassins Creed. Stormie had left one of her games in the Xbox, right? Then I went upstairs to get a snack. There was that weird noise from downstairs, too. Didn't I go down to check what that was? Right, I did. What else? Um, I got downstairs, then I looked towards the TV...but what happened after that? I can't remember too much...just that weird feeling. Like I was moving. Then there was that pain in my back...did someone scream? Then I was picked up...then...ugh, I can't remember after that. There was nothing...

What the hell happened to me?

More importantly, where the hell am I now?

When I open my eyes, I find it easier than I thought it would be. Luckily, it's not too bright in here, so I'm saved some pain from opening my eyes. Also, I still happen to have my glasses, which I'm pretty thankful for, as I would not be happy to walk around half-blind. Done it before, not pleasant. In the dim light, I'm able to make out what's above me, seeing as I'm lying on my back.

…Thaaats not my ceiling. Last I checked, the ceiling of my house isn't made of stone.

I stare at the strange ceiling for a bit, before I realize what I'm laying on. It's kind of hard…not very comfortable. Also, I can feel what I _think_ are sheets on top of it. When I turn my head to the right, I see that the strange bed I'm laying on is attached to the wall (which is also made of stone) by two chains on the top and bottom left corners of the bed. What the heck?

Slowly, I pull myself into a sitting position on the hard bed, looking around. It's kind of hard to see because of the dim light, but I'm in some sort of small (really small) room made completely of stone. Seriously, there's stone walls, stone floor, stone…everything, really. The only things in here that aren't made of stone are the bed (I think…), and a small toilet in the corner of the room. I don't think I'm gonna use it, though.

Even though I have no idea what's going on, I have to raise an eyebrow at my current surroundings. Because, really, It's kinda freaky. One minute, I'm at home, and the next, I'm in some sort of freaky room made of stone. With barely any light, by the way. And for some reason, the light that _is_ visible is cut up in little segments. Why is it doing that? Narrowing my eyes in confusion, I turn myself around on the bed to see the wall behind me.

…Or…_not _see the wall behind me. Because there is no wall.

I _do_ get a good view of a set of bars, though.

My mind goes 'whuuuuuuu…' for a good minute after viewing the bars behind me. Because that's how I react to everything when I first wake up. Then, it finally clicks in my mind just _why_ there are metal bars behind me instead of another stone wall and a door.

I'm in a jail cell.

…Okay, what?

No, seriously, _what_? Why the hell am I in a _jail _cell? Wasn't I just at home not too long ago? What the fuck did I _do_?

I snap myself out of my panicked thoughts by slapping myself across the face. Always works. Okay…okay, calm down…try to think. I can't exactly remember how I got here…mabye I should see what I have with me. Might give me a clue.

Standing, I immediately begin to pat myself down. When I feel around in my left pocket, I find out that I still have everything that was in there with me. Which is kind of weird...don't they usually take all your personal belongings when they put you in jail?

…You know what, screw it. I'm just glad they didn't take my MP3 player.

Sighing, I pull out my phone to see If I can call my dad to let him know what's going on. However, I realize that I can't, because I have no bars. Damn. Though I _was_ able to figure out the time, thanks to my phone's clock.

It's 3 a.m.

…There goes my sleep schedule, I guess. And just about all my freedom, because I'm pretty sure my parents are gonna ground me for an eternity for being out this late.

"Ahem! That's enough out of you. Almost meal time."

I jump at the sudden voice that comes from outside the jail cell, then turn my head in it's direction when I hear clanking footsteps coming this way. A few seconds pass, then I see a man walk in front of the cell door. Because of the dim light, it's hard to see him, but I manage to make out the glint of armor and some sort of weapon.

…Is that a knight?

When the guy (knight?) walks past my cell, I just stare in the direction he left in until I can't hear any footsteps anymore. A knight? Seriously? What am I in, some sort of dungeon? There aren't any of those in Missouri!

At least…I think not.

Slowly, I step in front of the cell door, peering outside. From here, I can see a lot better, and I can also _hear _better. I don't know how I didn't notice this before, but I can hear some people whispering to each other to my left, one of them closer than the other. Can't make out what they're saying, though. Also, for some strange reason, when I listen to the right, I hear…snoring.

Well, it _is_ 3 a.m. Most people sleep at this time.

I startle slightly when I hear a small 'click' from somewhere next to me. I look to the right, and I notice the cell door. Nothing strange about that. Just to make sure, I push on it slightly to confirm that it's locked-

Only to find out that it's not. The door swings slightly open with a small 'creak'.

…Well. Isn't _that_ convenient.

Staring, I push my hand on it again, only to make it open further. Hm…maybe that 'click' I heard was the door opening. I can't believe my luck that the guards just _randomly _decided to leave the door unlocked. Stupid idiots.

So…what now? Do I leave, or do I stay here like a good prisoner? It would make me look bad if I just left my cell. I could turn into a felon! Then again…I really have no idea where I am. Also, I just saw a friggin' knight, which are usually found in castles. And unless I really don't know my history, the only castle that's in the U.S is the Disney Castle. So I _think_ I can assume that I'm not in my own country anymore.

Okay, that settles it. I'm getting out of here.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, I slip past the small opening I made with the door. Then, so nothing looks suspicious, I slowly close the door again, making sure that it doesn't creak. I vaguely notice that everything around me is _also_ made of stone. Someone must like stone a lot.

I take a quick look at my surrounding to try to get a feel of where I am. Like I said, everything's made of stone. To my left, I can see two more cells, most likely the source of the whispering. To my right, I can see a wall made entirely of metal bars. I guess I can assume that I really _am _in some sort of dungeon, because I don't really think average prisons decorate like this. Also, I figured out where the snoring was coming from. A little bit past the wall I'm currently against, there's another knight-person sleeping at a wooden desk.

These guys are freakin' _morons, _I swear to god…

I just settle with making a sort of 'tch' sound and rolling my eyes before moving towards the guy's desk area.

That is, until I hear footsteps coming from outside the room.

FUCK.

"Shitshishiiiit…" I mumble to myself, frantically looking for a place to hide. I _could _just go back to my cell, but I don't think I'll make it in time. Dammit, what can I hide behind?

My eyes land on a box behind the guards desk.

Quickly, I run behind the desk and practically _dive _over the large wooden box, hitting the floor with a _'thud_'. Ow. I wait a few seconds behind the box, nursing my now bruised shoulder, before hearing the creaking of the metal door opening. I slowly peek my head over the side to see what it is.

As I watch, three knights walk towards the direction of the cells, ignoring the sleeping guard at the desk. I notice that one of them looks…different. His armor's a different color than the other two, and he isn't wearing a helmet. I can't see his face in the dim light, but I'm able to make out silver, shoulder length hair. Hm, weird.

The three knights disappear behind the wall where the cells are, but I can still hear their footsteps. Suddenly, the footsteps stop, and there's a loud 'creak' of a cell door opening.

"Out."

"Ah well, just when things were gettin' good."

"Hurry up."

Shortly after the small conversation, the footsteps continue, but this time, I can hear another pair of feet walking with them. I guess that they released one of the other prisoners.

"Whoa!" _Thud._

The footsteps stop, and I narrow my eyes at the sudden outburst. Did one of them fall over or something?

"What are you doing? I said hurry up."

"All right, easy! I'm coming."

There's a pause, then they begin to walk again. A second later, I see them re-appear from behind the wall. As they walk past, I notice a fourth figure with them, a man in a purple coat. Then, they exit the prison.

I stay behind my box for a little bit until I can't hear their footsteps anymore, then slowly sit up, thinking about what I just saw. I mean, really...some random knight guys coming here and taking a prisoner with them at this time? Kind of strange, if you ask me.

Also, _why_ am I getting such a sense of déjà vu? I don't know why…but I feel like I've seen this all before.

I have to duck back down again when I suddenly hear a door open in the direction of the cells. A few seconds later, there's the sound of running footsteps, and when I peer my head over the box again, I see a figure run past the guards desk, exiting through the door that the knights came from. They pause slightly when they run out the door, then make a sharp right. I can't see what they're doing, though, because the metal bars cut off behind the guard's desk, turning into a stone wall. A few seconds pass, then I hear the footsteps again, and they slowly disappear with a faint echo behind them.

…I'm gonna take a guess and say that was the other prisoner. Either we're all escape artists, or these guys just _really_ suck at their job. I'm going for the latter.

I wait a few seconds before deciding that no more people are gonna randomly appear, then stand up from behind my box. I take a second to straighten out my appearance (coat fixed, smooth down messed up hair, make sure glasses won't fall off), then walk in the same direction that the other people walked towards, exiting through the prison door.

Well, first thing I can say, It's definitely brighter here. Directly in front of me is a large archway, showing a white stone staircase leading up. There's not really anything interesting to my left, but when I look to my right, I see two large boxes sitting on the floor, both of them open. This must have been what that person walked towards. I walk over to the boxes to see what's inside, and find a pleasantly odd surprise.

Inside the left box is my black bag, and next to it is…a sword. A sword that as I look at it, I realize that it's the katana that my parents keep in our living room.

…What?

"The fuck…?", I murmur to myself, staring at the sheathed katana for a bit, before noticing a small piece of paper attached to the scabbard. I take it off, bringing it up so I can read it.

_Figured you would need this. Don't worry, I sharpened it for you. Try not to get yourself killed._

_-X_

I stare at the note in confusion, then look back at the katana in the box. Slowly, I reach my hand out and pick that up also. Yeah…this is definitely the sword from my house. I can see the chink in the scabbard from when I whacked my sister in the face with it. But why is it even here? And…who the hell is X? And how the hell did they know that I would need it?

…Ugh, I'm not even gonna bother anymore. My mind has been thrown for too many loops this morning, and I'm not gonna try to sort them all out now. For all I know, I could just be having a crazy dream.

Sighing in slight frustration, I place the katana next to me on the floor, then proceed to look through my bag. Surprisingly, everything's still in there, including my Black Butler mangas. Yay for the little things~! Smiling, I place the familiar bag onto my left shoulder, then grab the sword next to me before getting to my feet.

Okay, so, now what? Obviously, I can't stay here, unless I want to be thrown back into that jail cell and have god-knows-what done to me. But…can I really find a way out of here by myself? I mean, I don't even know where I _am_, and I'm not exactly the most directionally gifted person. Hell, I run into _doors_ because I forget they're _there_! How the hell am I gonna find a way out of here by myself?

…Gah, screw it. I can hear that guard mumbling in his sleep. I'd just better go _now_, before I change my mind.

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><p>Well, this is easier than I'd thought it would be.<p>

Well, not much has happened since I last talked. I walked up those stairs that I mentioned earlier, only to find myself in a HUMONGOUS room. I mean, really, it was pretty fuckin' big. And shiny looking. I would have just stood there in awe for about a half-hour (because I'm an idiot like that), if it wasn't for all the unconscious knights everywhere.

These guys must have got the _shit_ beaten out of them by somebody, because they were just…everywhere. There was even one hanging off the edge of a balcony, which I found extremely funny at that moment. I'm gonna take a guess and say that it was that prisoner from earlier. Though it didn't really bother me much, because it just meant less sneaking around on my part.

So, after climbing a few well-placed staircases in the room, I found myself where I am now.

Traveling down an impossibly long hallway.

I've been walking down this thing for a good…two minutes now? That should give you a good estimate at how freakin' _long_ it is, and right now, the constant '_clack'_-ing of my boots is driving me insane.

Stupid marble floor and it's echo-ey hallway.

As I walk, I keep my newly acquired weapon clutched close to my chest. Because really, I have no idea when I'm gonna have to use it. I'm not gonna use the blade, or anything…I'm probably just gonna wave it around like mad until I whack someone with it. Like that one time with my sister.

That _still_ makes me laugh every time I think about it.

I almost start dancing in joy when I finally see the end of the hallway. 'Bout damn time, too. I was starting to think I got myself trapped in some never-ending hallway!

When I walk through the large archway, I find myself inside of a large room. Not as big as the other one, but still pretty big by my standards. I notice a small pile of unconscious knights in the upper left corner of the room. How lovely. There's two other hallways attached to the western and northern walls of the room.

Well, I can hear some shouting coming from the western hallway, so I think I'll go north. Just to be safe.

It's _totally_ not because I'm a wuss. Yeah.

…'kay maybe a little bit.

However, I only get to the center of the room before I hear rapid footsteps coming from behind me. When I turn, I see two knights run into room from the western hallway. One of them spots me.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?"

"Identify yourself!"

SHIT.

"Meep!", I manage to squeak, before bolting towards the hallway. My fear only rises when I hear their footsteps close in behind me.

The hallway that I run into is shorter than the one before, so before long I find myself in a larger hallway. Jesus Christ, how big IS this place?

I keep running trying my best to outpace the knights behind me. I can't hear their footsteps right now, so I'm guessing they haven't made it into the room yet. They're gonna get here soon, though, and I need to get the hell out of here before-

"AGH!"

Apparently, the world has decided to _screw me _today, because I am suddenly yanked to the right by a hand grabbing my right arm, pulling me inside of a room that I didn't notice. As I'm pulled inside, medium sized doors close behind me, and I find myself pinned by a pair of arms wrapped around me.

Crap, I got caught.

Immediately, I begin struggling, but whoever has me has one _hell_ of a grip. I'm barely doing a thing against this person, so I just settle with trying to kick their legs out.

"Hey, quit it!", they yell, and I confirm from their voice that it's a guy. Great. "Calm down!"

"Agh! Let me go, bastard!", I scream, and continue my flailing. Or at least, my attempts at flailing, seeing as this guy has me completely immobilized. I'm pretty sure that I'm doing some damage, though, because the guy grunts in pain when I give him a solid kick to the shin. Take _that_, asshole! I'm wearin' biker boots!

"Please, calm down! We're only trying to help!"

I stop flailing at the female voice, and when I look up, I see the source of the voice. A pink-haired girl in a blue dress is standing in front of me, a worried expression on her face.

"H-huh…?" I stammer, staring at confusion at the girl in front of me. When did she get here? "W…who are you?"

"I don't really think that's the issue here." I turn my head around to look at who just spoke, but from the way he's pinning me, I only get a good look of his shoulder.

"…What?" I manage to say, still trying to get a good look at the guy's face. Which I'm utterly failing at, by the way, because this guy is pretty tall. And I'm still being pinned by him, so I just keep getting a good look at his shoulder.

Okay, this is getting uncomfortable. As best I can, I try to look somewhere near this guy's face. I only get a view of somewhere next to his head, "Uh…would you mind letting me go? Please?"

"You gonna bolt as soon as I do?" I shake my head at his question. "Okay then."

And then, to my relief, I am released. I stumble a little bit as I hit the floor, as he was kind of holding me above the ground. When I make sure that I'm not going to fall on my face, I finally manage to get a look at the guy behind me.

A man, probably a little older than me, stands behind me. He's got long hair that's a sort of dark…grayish-purple, I'd say, with grey eyes that look slightly suspicious of me. I can't really describe his outfit, because it doesn't make much sense to me. It's mainly black, except for some light grey boots, and a gold bracelet around his left wrist.

…

…Why does he look so familiar?

"Do I know you?"

The man looks at me in confusion. "Uh…what?"

It takes me a second to realize that I randomly asked him something without thinking about it. "Ah, sorry!", I exclaim, slapping my forehead with the palm of my hand. I'm an idiot, I really am. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking when I said that. I've had…a really weird morning so far."

He raises an eyebrow at me. "Okay…does being chased by the knights have anything to do with that?"

I flinch at his statement. So blunt. "Well…that's half of it." I look at him again, and my mind suddenly flashes back to the prison. "Hey, wait a sec…" _Now_ I know where I've seen him! "You're that other prisoner, aren't you?"

He gives me a confused look, so I continue. "The guy that went out of the prison after the group of knights…that _was _you, right?"

"Yeah…", he answers, raising an eyebrow at me. "But how'd you know that?"

"I was in the prison. How else would I know?"

"I didn't see anyone else in the other cell. Where were you?"

"I was hiding behind a box behind the guard's desk."

"How did you manage to escape?" I turn my head in the direction of the new voice, to see the girl from earlier. Huh, forgot she was there.

I cross my arms and grin at her. "Because the guards are idiots and forgot to lock my cell door." I hear the man snort at my statement, and my grin gets larger. "Are all these guys like that at three in the morning? They're all running around like maniacs out there."

I see the girl blush at that, and that makes me suspicious, for some reason. "By the way…", I begin, glancing at the both of them, "Why are you two hiding out in here?"

"Same reason you're in here," the man says, and I look at him, "Hiding from the knights."

"Excuse me, but I didn't exactly come in here by myself.", I remind him, raising an eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, you guys pulled me in here against my will."

"Yeah, but you were being chased by knights, so I think we actually did you a favor." Touché, random man. Touché.

…Y'know, I find it so weird that I was just trying to kick this guy's legs out, and now we're just having a casual conversation. Honestly, I'm having a _really_ weird morning.

"Um, Yuri…" I hear the girl mumble. I turn to look at her, and I see she has a hand raised hesitantly, like she has something to say. "We need to hurry. Flynn…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the man states, waving a hand at her. I glance at him. His name's Yuri? Really? He doesn't look like a Farmer George, though…hehe.

…Wait a second…Yuri…why is that familiar to me? I mean, I have a friend named Yuri at school, but that's not why it's so familiar. Not to mention the nagging feeling that I've seen him somewhere _other_ than when he was leaving the prison. Dammit, where the hell do I _know_ him from?

"…gonna do?"

"Hm-wha?" I snap my head up at the voice directed at me. "Sorry, wasn't listening."

"I said what are you gonna do?", Yuri says to me. "You can't stay here forever, y'know."

Huh…I wasn't thinking about that. Now that I'm looking around, I can see that we're in some sort of dining hall. I guess this is where all those knights eat during the day. If that's the case, I really can't stay here, unless I want them to find me in the morning when the cooks come in to make the food. That would be unpleasant.

"…You have a point there." I mumble. I turn to them clapping my hands together. "You guys mind if I join your little escape group? We all seem to have the same goal here, so why not?"

"You think you can defend yourself?" At Yuri's question, I hold up my katana, which is still sheathed in its' scabbard.

"I got this thing. I don't know how to use it, but I'm pretty sure I can just whack whoever gets in my way." I then point to the bag on my shoulder. "If that doesn't work, I can just whack them with this thing. I've got some pretty heavy crap in here."

"Okay then." he replies, grinning at my response. "Just to let you know, we have to make a little detour before we get out of here. That okay with you?"

"Eh, fine with me. As long as I can get out of here at some point."

"Alright then." he says, then heads toward the door. "C'mon, we've wasted enough time here already."

I nod, then follow behind him, and I notice that the girl in the blue dress fall in behind me. I guess we're both just following him.

Doesn't matter to me, as long I can get out of here.

* * *

><p>About the whole 'Farmer George' thing up there…that's sort of an inside joke. I figured out that the name 'Yuri' is a name that came from the name George, and that it means 'farmer' in Russian. I thought it was funny, so I combined the two and came up with Farmer George. I call my friend Yuri that all the time, to his confusion. Haha.<p>

It's really annoying writing this story when my character doesn't realize that she's in a video game yet. It really is. I'm gonna make it so that she figures that out in the _next_ chapter, so I can stop STRESSING over it.

**Next time: What do you mean I'm in a video game?**


	3. Panic Time

You guys make me so happy. You really do.

I CANT BELIEVE SOMEONE ACTUALLY PUT MY STORY ON THEIR FAVORITES. THANK YOU, ALL YOU AWESOME PEOPLE.

I ALSO THANK MY AWESOME THREE REVIEWERS. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME.

ALSO HAVE YOU NOTICED I LIKE CAPS A LOT? IT MAKES EVERYTHING DRAMATIC.

Okay, backing off the caps. Sorry that this was so late, but I was having one of my usualy laziness bouts. That, and I kept getting randomly distracted by this vid here:

.com/watch?v=W_1v-16kt3s&feature=feedf

It's so random and stupid. :3

Also, I've been busy scaring the shit out of myself by playing Silent Hill 2, which is a very awesome game. I just wish Pyramid Head would stop randomly appearing out of nowhere. Here's an example of my problem with that.

Me: *on hospital roof, just figured out that I can't get off* What the hell? Why can't I-

*random screeching noise from behind*

Me: YARGH! PYRAMID HEAD!

…Yeah, I'm a frikkin' wuss.

Now, to respond to the next batch of reviews before I forget:

Sylph Writer:

Me: Yes, Letha, make fun of Cassie being in jail. I hope you're prepared to face her wrath, though.

Cassie: *evily plotting as we speak* Hehehe…

Me: …Yeah, ignoring you for a minute. I'm gonna clear up the whole issue of 'how she got here' in this chapter, along with revealing this 'X' person that was mentioned.

Cassie: Yes, please do, so I can figure out WHY I'M HERE.

Me: Shush you! Go back to your plotting.

Cassie: Meh.

Angelic:

Yes, I DID fix the way that my character enters the storyline. It's better than the whole 'got zapped by the console', but I made it all mysterious. *shifty eyes*

…And what's up with the whole 'I sheeeeeeee' at the end?

Gongondemon6:

Thank you for saying so! Her thoughts make me laugh too, so it's good that it makes someone else too.

Also, I'm sorry the way that she entered seemed bland to you. Trust me, it's just because I didn't explain it. When I DO explain it, it might make more sense. And be a little more exciting.

And yes, I _do_ plan to put her through even more stuff. Don't worry about that!

Cassie: Damn.

…damn, this is a long author's note.

Also, first fight scene in here YAAAAAY. Hopefully, I wrote it well, but I'm not counting on it. D:

**Disclaimer****: Don't own Zagi's homicidal personality. Or ToV.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Not My World<strong>

Okay.

Seriously.

This is pissing me off.

Why the hell…do I know this place?

I'd say it's been about…ten minutes? Yeah, about ten minutes since we've left the dining room. Since then, the three of us (me, the Yuri guy, and the girl in the dress) have been sneaking around through hallways, hallways, and _more_ hallways. I'm pretty sure this Yuri character got lost a few times, which is why so many hallways were involved in our sneaking.

Any knights that we _did_ run into (whether by accident or on purpose) were knocked out by said person mentioned above. However, I _did_ manage to knock one out on my own when he started running at me. However, all I did was scream and whack him over the head with my sword (which was still sheathed, by the way). So if you were expecting me to become some sort of awesome badass at that moment, I'm gonna have to disappoint you.

However, while we were…_sneaking_, I couldn't stop the constant feeling of déjà-vu running through me. And it's driving me nuts, because I swear to god, I have _seen_ this place before! I don't know how, since I've never been in a castle before, but I HAVE! It's making me _insanely_ P.O'ed.

Also, I'm still completely achy from when I woke up earlier, much to my confusion. I must have been hit really, _really_ hard, because I'm aching from head to toe. My head hurts, my chest hurts, everything _hurts_. I feel like a giant walking bruise.

So, basically, I'm not in the best of moods right now. I'm achy, I can't figure out why I know this place, and also, it's _three_ in the morning. Which is one of my most hated times in the world.

I could probably bite someone's head off right now.

Trying to avoid randomly yelling my frustrations, I take a look at the two people walking ahead of me. As we walked, I sort of ventured to the back, so they can't exactly see me staring at them. These two…they look kind of odd, now that I actually look at them.

The pink-haired girl looks like some sort of noble, mainly due to the dress she's wearing. It's one of those dresses you would usually find a princess wearing. It's this light sky-blue, with gold trim and white undergarments, from what I can see. Also, the way she walks…it just screams nobility.

Now, this Yuri guy…he's the complete opposite. At first glance, he looks like a shady guy. I mean, with the dark hair, clothes, and pale skin…he just looks like one of those guys you're most likely to meet in an alley somewhere. I'll reserve my opinion until later, but…it still bothers me. What _also _bothers me is that he carries around a sword. I mean, I have a sword and all, but that was just forced on me by that weird X guy.

Also…why a sword? Why can't these people just carry around guns and crap? Why go with swords and lances? It just goes to unsettle me more and more, because people in the U.S don't just go carrying around swords and lances.

…Unless they're cosplayers. However, that's not the issue here.

"Yeah, it was somewhere around here…"

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when the dress-girl speaks up, and I notice that we've stopped in the middle of the grand hallway we're in right now. When I glance at her, I see that she's looking around, obviously trying to find something here. What it is, I don't know.

While she looks around, I see Yuri point to the left, towards a door right next to her. "This is Flynn's room."

…I don't think she heard him, as she keeps looking around, before then spotting the door next to her. Then she looks away, and kind of nods to herself, like she's thinking something over. I hear Yuri sigh next to me at her actions. I take this opportunity to ask a question.

"Who's Flynn?"

"Eh?" He looks over to me, then off to one side. "Ah, just someone we need to find before we leave."

"…Riiiight." I say slowly, then jerk my head in the direction of the door. "So, should we go in? I'd like it if we could leave as soon as possible."

"You're not the only one." he mumbles, I'm guessing to himself, but I hear it since I'm next to him.

"Right then." I mumble, then I walk up to the pink-haired girl, tapping her shoulder with my free hand. When she turns, I point over to the door. "Are we gonna go in? You wanted to find this Flynn guy, didn't you?"

"Oh! Yes, of course.", she replies, nodding her head. She then walks over to the door and lightly raps her gloved knuckles on the hard wood. "Flynn? Are you in there?"

Silence. She knocks a second time. "Flynn?"

Silence again. I hear Yuri sigh again, then I see him walk up to the door and grab the doorknob, opening the door with a _click_.

The girl turns to him. "What are you doing? We can't just barge in!"

He looks to her, raising an eyebrow. "Well, he's not answering anyway. Might as well go in." Excellent reasoning. And in we do go!

Well, it's pretty dark, that's the first thing that I can say. The room is a dark contrast to the brightly light hall, yet it still feels welcoming, for some reason. Also, it's a pretty spacious room, so we're not cramped up together. I opt to stay near the corner of the room, next to a wardrobe of sorts. From the light coming through some windows on the far wall, I see Yuri walk towards a desk in the other corner of the room. The pink-haired girl stays in front of the door.

It's pretty silent in here, and it takes me a second to realize why. When I look around, I realize that us three are the only ones in the room. Whoever they we're looking for, it looks like he left.

So, basically, we sneaked all the way over here for nothing.

Damn.

"He's really keeping this place cleaned up…" I look over to Yuri, and I see that he's looking around the room. "Flynn must be off gallivanting around somewhere."

Next to me, I see the girl slump visibly. "Then…that means I'm too late." Oh, she looks so disappointed. She must have really wanted to see this guy.

"D-don't worry!" I start, gaining the girl's attention. "I'm sure he'll be back soon enough. You can tell him then!"

"But…" Eugh, I don't think that helped. She still looks all sad.

I look over at Yuri when I see him move, turning to look at the girl next to me.

"So, what sort of wickedness did you do anyways?" he says, placing a hand on his hip. I raise an eyebrow at his comment, also looking to the pink haired girl. Wickedness? She doesn't look like she would do anything bad.

"Me?" she responds, a confused expression on her face. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"And yet a bunch of knights were chasing you around the castle." Eh? They were? "…Yeah, that makes sense."

I point at myself. "Well, there were knights chasing me around, and as far as I know, I didn't do anything."

He looks over at me, and in the light, I can see a sort of sarcastic expression. "_Besides_ sneaking out of the prison, you mean?"

"…Okay, you got me there."

"Heh." Oh, shut up, you.

"Um…" And there's the girl again. Seriously, I need to know her name. It's bothering me. Looking to her, I see that she has her hands clasped in front of here. "You see…Yuri!"

He looks over at her sudden shout. "Whoa…what is it?"

Now she looks all determined. "I can't be specific, but Flynn is in terrible danger!"

…Is that why she was looking for him? Was she trying to warn this Flynn-guy?

_Of course she was, you nimrod!_

I jump at the sudden voice that comes out of _nowhere_, which scared the shit out of me. I can hear a conversation going on between my two companions, who didn't see me jump, but I'm ignoring them for now, as I am trying to find the voice. However, we are the only ones in the room.

..I think my mind has finally snapped from all the events of this morning. I'm hearing random voices out of nowhere, and that's _never_ a good sign.

"…least help me get out of the castle?"

Right, focus. I turn towards my two companions, and see that Yuri is now sitting on the lone bed in the room. The girl in the dress is standing in front of him, and as I watch, she dips into a small bow, hands clasped in front of her.

"Please, I'm begging you."

Yuri stays stoned faced for a second, before giving a short sigh. "…Okay, I can see you're serious, but…why don't you tell me your name first?" Yay, do we get to learn her name now? Because I'm really tired of just calling her the girl in the-

I give a short scream, along with the (still unnamed) girl, when the door next to me is suddenly kicked in with a _bang_. Startled, I run over to the now standing Yuri and the girl, keeping my eye on the now open door. A few seconds later, a figure walks into the room.

As soon as I lay eyes on this guy, something inside me head tells me to _run_. He has two medium sized knifes in his hands, each one a mix of black and red markings. His outfit freaks me out too. It's a sort of…jumpsuit thing, with a shit load of belts over his torso and arms. I'm not even gonna comment on his face, because the look he's giving us is freaking me out. Oh, and his hair's three different colors. Why I decided to point that out, I have no idea.

All in all, this guy looks like a freak.

He throws his head back, staring at us like a predator would his prey. "Prepare to fall victim to my blade…"

Whoaaaa, creepy. I sort of back behind Yuri, who's paying no attention to the sudden intruder. That seems to piss him off, because he suddenly slashes at a vase on the shelf next to him. The dark-haired man next to me glances at him then, an eyebrow raised.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

The man slowly shifts into some sort of stance. "I am Zagi…the man who will end your life. Now die, Flynn Scifo!"

Before I can react at all, this Zagi guy just _lunges _at Yuri, knifes raised. I yelp and run to the right when Yuri catches them with his now unsheathed sword, and then the battle really begins. As I watch, this Zagi dude slashes and kicks at Yuri, who also begins to attack.

Now, I did say that this was a pretty big room, right? However, I didn't say it was big enough for two people to _brawl_ in. Which it isn't. So, I'm left to run around in some random direction, along with the other girl, when the two fighting men start to get too close for comfort. I finally find a place behind the headboard of the bed, and as I hide there, I manage to catch a conversation between the fighting duo.

"You got the wrong guy!" That would be Yuri.

"Die!" …and that would be the Zagi dude.

"You _really_ should listen a little more!"

"My name is Zagi. Remember it well, Flynn."

"_Listen_, I'm _not_ Flynn!"

"Heh, aw, what's wrong?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm gonna kill you, and carve your name into my blood." …What?

"…Yeah, that's pretty disgusting." That's just what I was thinking Yuri. However, I don't get to hear anymore of their discussion, because at that moment, Zagi decides to get a _liiiiiitle_ too close to me. Of course, being me, I decide to do the first thing that pops into my head.

Unfortunately, that thing is to whack the (possible homicidal) man over the head with my still sheathed sword.

Which then focuses his attention on me.

Fuck.

Before I can move out of the way, the Zagi guy grabs a hold on the front of my jacket-oh my god what's he gonna go holy crap why is he lifting me up-

Soaring over his head straight for the WALLHOLY SHIT IM GONNA-

_CRACK._

Everything fades to black.

* * *

><p>"…Nngh."<p>

Ugghghh…my freakin' head…that hurt like hell. Stupid guy…throwing me at the wall like that…I'm gonna kick him the next time I see him.

"_Don't you think it's about time you woke up?"_

My eyes snap open at the sudden voice, but I shut them again when a blinding pain goes through my skull, and I'm left to hold my head and swear in pain. Okay, let's try that again…open my eyes _slowly_ this time. Carefully, I manage to do so without making my head hurt anymore, and I look around.

…

…What the hell?

I'm…not in that room anymore. But I don't know what this place is either. It's nothing but…white. I can feel solid ground underneath me (and I realize for the first time that I'm randomly standing.), but I can't see it. It's just white space. Why am I in white space?

"_You're going to give yourself a headache trying to figure all this out."_

"HOLY-" I shout, looking all around in the white space. It's that random voice again! Where's it coming from?

"_I would appreciate it if you wouldn't shout…and I'm behind you, idiot."_

What?

Thoroughly confused (for the hundredth time today), I turn around. Sure enough, someone is standing behind me. Someone that I don't recognize.

A guy, possibly only a little older than me, stands about…seven feet away from me, with his arms crossed in front of him. He's wearing a large trench coat of some sort, colored a sort of silver-white, that ends just above knee-level, with the rest of his legs covered by black pants and dark brown combat boots. He has long, solid black hair that sprawls over his shoulders, and he's got these…unusually bright green eyes, which are filled with annoyance right now.

"…Who the hell are you?", I ask, turning to face him. He doesn't look like anyone I know, that's for sure.

He raises an eyebrow at me. _"Excuse me, but I would ask you to not speak to me in such a rude tone."_

…Wow, weird voice. It sounds all echo-ey and shit. Kind of creepy.

I just glare at him. "Why should I be polite with you? I don't even know who you are." I wave an arm in the air. "And what the hell is this place?"

"_This place, as you would put it,"_ he begins, gesturing the air with one hand, _"Is your sub-conscious. I brought you here when you were knocked out."_

My…subconscious? That's kind of freaky…I mean, does that mean that I'm in some sort of dream-wait, brought me here?

"What do you mean you brought me here?" I ask. "What are you, my actual conscience?

"_No. I am not." _he replies, sounding a little pissed. Jeez, dude, what the hell did I do?

"No need to get so mad, I'm just asking a question." I tell him, crossing my arms. "I've been through a lot the past hour or so."

"_Honestly, I could care less at this point."_ Fine, be that way, jackass. _"I have been needing to speak with you for a while."_

"What? Why?" I point at him. "I don't even know you! Why the hell do you need to speak with me?"

"_It relates to your current situation."_ he seethes, _"If you want answers to where you are, then I would suggest that you hold your tongue."_

That causes me to freeze. He…knows? Where I am? How I got here? Why the hell didn't he show up earlier? I could have figured this out before I got slammed into that frikkin' wall!

"_Are you listening?"_

"Of course I am!" I shout at him, a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. "If you know about what the hell is happening to me, then tell me! I need to know!"

He just huffs at my loud response (which is now echoing in this weird space). _"No need to shout. I am right here, you know."_

Silence follows, then he speaks again. _"The first thing that I should probably tell you is, I was the one who brought you to your current location."_

"You? _You_ brought me here?"

"_Correct. Before you go on one of your rants again, I will tell you that I have a reason for that. I just can't tell you at the moment."_

Ugh. Asshole. "All right, mind if I ask you another question, then?"

"_If you must."_

"Just who are you?" I ask, giving him a look. "It would be _nice_ to know the name of the person who brought me here against my will."

"_I have no name."_ he replies, crossing his arms. _"That is because I am not exactly human, like you."_

"You…aren't human?" Well, isn't that a twist? "What exactly are you, then?"

"_I am a spirit, of sorts. I'm no ghost, but I do possess magical qualities. That is how I was able to bring you here."_

Oh, great. I'm talking to a nameless, magical spirit in my freakin' mind. I'm starting to think I might be going slightly insane here.

"Okay…" I start, rubbing a hand over my face in frustration. "If you don't have a name, can I give you one? Just so I have something to call you?"

"_If you must. Just don't call me something idiotic."_

"Yeah, yeah, let me think." I look towards the ground, thinking. What should I call him…ooh, I got one. I look back up to him. "…You look like a Demitri. Mind if I call you that?"

"_I don't mind."_

"All right then, Demitri…where am I?" I sort of wave my right hand in the air. "Last I checked, people don't just wake up in random prison cells." I flop my arm back down, and I see the newly dubbed Demitri give me a look. I can't describe it…but he looks confused.

"_You still don't recognize the area?"_ He pauses, then looks like he's thinking to himself. _"…That would make sense. You didn't see too much of it, so you wouldn't recognize it at first glance."_

"Um, hey." I point at myself. "Still here, Y'now. What are you talking about?"

He looks back at me, giving me a searching look. What now? _"Tell me, girl…"_ He's gonna get smacked for that._ "Did you feel something…familiar when walking around the castle?"_

My mind snaps to my constant deja-vu feeling. "Uh…yeah. Why?"

"_Why do you think that was?"_

"I have no idea! It's not like I've ever been in that place before. I've never even been _near_ a castle!"

"_I never said that you were."_ Silence follows, and he gestures towards me with a hand. _"You may have never been near a castle…but that doesn't mean that you haven't seen one before."_

"Well, yeah." I reply. "But that was the Disney Castle. And if you haven't noticed, that place is nothing Disney."

"_And what of the two people that you met? Didn't they seem familiar to you?"_

…How the hell does he know all this? How I thought everything that I saw was familiar to me…why was that? I recognized that castle. I recognized Yuri and that girl. too. And now that I think about it, that Zagi guy was familiar too! I just didn't know it at the time, since he was attacking us.

"_Think back to when you were at your home. What happened before all this?"_

When I was at home? I already know what happened there! I got home from school, went to play Assassin's Creed, and there was another game in. I don't see what that has to do with any-

…_the other game._

Holy shit.

My mind flashes back to the image on the TV screen. Whenever you play a game on the Xbox 360, the screen shows an image of the game that's in the console. That game that was in…there was an image of two people.

Now I realize why I found that guy so familiar.

One of them was…Yuri.

Oh god.

"_Figured it out yet?"_

I'm in a video game?

A _video game?_

No way. That…that's impossible! P-people don't just get randomly sucked into video games! It's not possible! This…this has to just be some sort of dream. Just an insane dream that I need to wake up from.

"_I can assure you, girl, this is no dream."_

"But that doesn't make any _sense_!" I scream at him, near hysterics. My mind registers that he somehow know what I was thinking, but I ignore that fact for now. "You can't just get sucked into random games! That stuff only happens in frikkin' _fan fiction!"_

But…that doesn't explain why I knew that place…and why I thought it was so familiar. It was familiar…because I had seen it before. From watching Stormie play the game. But…why me? Why the hell did I have to get caught up in this. I never even _played_ the damn game! How the hell am I going to survive here?

I place my head in my hands and groan. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

* * *

><p>URGH DONE CAN I DO SOMETHING ELSE NOW?<p>

I'm happy that the stupid OC finally figured out that she's in a video game. Now the fun can really begin.

If anyone wants me to rewrite this chapter, I would be happy to do so, because I think I messed up somewhere in here. If not, then that's fine. I just think that I messed up.

Hopefully, the next chapter will come a little sooner.

**Next Time:**** Talking to a dude in my head**


	4. Things Get Explained

HEY PEOPLE, HOW ARE- *whack*

I'm reeeeeeaaaaaally sorry that this took so long! I really did intend to work on this over my vacation…buuuut then I figured out my mom's laptop has no writing programs on it. Like…at all. So I couldn't.

Then, when we finally got back from vacation, I just couldn't figure out what to write! It was like the trip left me drained of ideas. Buuuut, then we were starting to re-model my room (we're turning it purple! :D) and suddenly- BAM! Inspiration struck! So now, I'm typing this in my, um…_temporary_ bedroom.

(It's the basement…DX)

I didn't get to when they get out of the castle in this chapter, but that'll be in the next chapter, I swear.

Random comment here: It was really hard to write this chapter while listening to Gabriel Iglesias at the same time. "AAAAAAH! …Pepsi." XD

Now, enough excuses about why I'm not writing! Time to get to reviews!:

Gongondemon6:

Yes, I'm so glad that she grew a brain and figured it out. Really, I am! And also, she's an idiot and panics easily, so she decided it was a GOOD idea to whack a possibly homicidal freak on the head. I'd probably do the same thing, because I'm also an idiot like that. :P

And I've heard that Fatal Frame was actually a pretty good game! I've just never had the guts to play it, because I suck at horror stuff.

Angelic:

…You know, now that I actually look at some of these chapters…it's starting to remind me of that, too. Weird.

Sylph Writer:

It's really hard to hit your full potential with the beginning chapters, because you just want to get to the real _exciting_ stuff! Still trying to figure out if some of the stuff I have planned is original or not.

I bet Cassie's just hoping that Zagi doesn't remember that little whack on the head. XD

StarSonata:

Thank you for your input! I'm really trying to make this an entertaining story, so I'm glad that you've enjoyed it so far. :3

*Ahem*, now then…on with the chapter!

**Disclaimer: Do not owwwwwwn.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Things get Explained<strong>

Ugh…so tired…why am I so tired all of a sudden? I just wanna…sleep…

"…_lo?"_

Hm…? Who'zzat?

"…_must've…he wall…ty hard."_

"_Do yo…e'll be oka…"_

Who are these random people talking? Let me sleep! …And quit shaking me!

"…_you okay, miss?"_

"Mrr…go'way. Sleepy…"

"Well, time to get up." Whyyyyyy? I wanna sleeeeeep…

'_Get up, you lazy ass!'_

"ABLAPH!" I sit up incredibly fast at the sudden loud voice in my head. However, I quickly notice my mistake, as I am now holding my head and swearing at the agony flowing through it. Good god, my _head!_ Why the hell does it hurt so-

Oh. Right. Got thrown at the wall.

Hard to remember things when you're knocked unconscious.

When I manage to open my eyes _without_ writhing in pain, I see that I'm back in Flynn's bedroom, with Yuri and that girl staring at me. This causes me to close my eyes again, both from confusion and pain. I mean…wasn't I just talking to Demitri a second ago? Why am I back here?

A hand on my shoulder causes me to open my eyes again, and I see the mystery girl at my side, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?"

Ah. Must have worried her with my loud swearathon-of-pain. Still holding my head, I manage a small smile. "Yeah…my head just hurts a lot right now."

"I'll bet it does.", says a voice to my right, and I notice Yuri is crouching next to me. "You hit that wall pretty hard."

"Eh, I'll be fine." I say, waving a hand quickly before putting it back on my aching head. "I've hit my head plenty of times before."

I see that the girl next to me still looks worried. "Are you sure?"

"Yep. Just need to walk it off!" I then notice that something's missing from the room. Namely, one crazy-haired psychopath. "Uh…where'd that Zagi guy go?"

"He left a little while ago, with the rest of his group." Ah. I guess Yuri must've chased him off or something. "Speaking of which, we should be getting a move on, too."

"That might be the best idea right now." I reply. Yuri nods at my response, then stands up, looking towards the open doorway.

"…We'll just go pay a visit to the goddess and be on our way." he mumbles, half to himself. He looks at me. "Think you can stand up?"

"Of course I can!" Slowly, I pull myself to my knees, and then carefully get to my feet, trying to be careful not to agitate my throbbing head any further. I wobble a little bit upon standing, but otherwise I stay upright. Woohoo. "See?"

"Yeah, well, just don't push yourself too hard." I give the swordsman a thumbs-up in response. He nods, then heads towards the door. I start to follow him, but I see the (still unnamed girl) move out of the corner of my eye.

"Yuri, um…"

Yuri turns to her. "Yeah, I know. We'll stick together until we're out of the castle." Then he looks at me out of the corner of him eye. "You too, I guess."

"Oh, yes," the girl replies, nodding. "But I was going to say…my name's Estellise."

Oh thank god, we _finally_ learned her name! Now I can stop calling her 'the girl in the dress'. And I guess I was right about her being of nobility. Last I checked, a name like Estellise wasn't given to some normal person.

Yuri nods at her, then looks over to me. "What about you?" Huh? "I don't think you ever said who you were."

"I didn't?" Well, that's awkward. Usually I let people know my name when I first meet them. "Sorry. My name's Cassandra Freeman. I'd prefer it if you'd call me Cassie, though. Everyone else does."

"Well then, Estellise, Cassie. Let's get moving."

"Wait!" I look over at Estellise, who shouted out. I see her pointing to the ground, and when I follow her finger, I see she's pointing at the fallen door, which Yuri is standing on. "We can't just leave the door like that."

I see Yuri raise an eyebrow. "I _really_ don't think this is the time to worry about something like that."

"Yeah, really." I add in, giving her a weird look. "I mean, we're kind of…escaping a castle here."

She gives us a pleading look. "But…"

Silence, then Yuri sighs and puts a hand on his hip. "All right, all right. Just…" He steps off the door. "Just give me a minute."

And believe it or not, he actually picks up the door, and starts trying to put it back in the doorway. Jeez, this isn't the time to be fixing doors, people! We're supposed to be getting of this place, dammit!

This place…

I zone out as I recall my conversation with Demitri. He said…I was in a video game, right? But…how the hell is that even possible? He said that he pulled me in here for something, but that should be impossible, too! People can't pull other people into fictional games! That kind of shit only happens in fandoms!

Wait, doesn't that mean…? I turn my head towards my two companions. Yuri is still trying to fit the door into the doorframe properly, and Estellise is standing to the side watching him. Quite comical, really.

That's right…they're game characters, aren't they? That's why I thought Yuri looked so familiar. He's the main character of the game…Tales of Vesperia, wasn't that it? Though, I only recognized him earlier because he was on the cover of the game case.

Now that I think about it, there was another guy on the cover too…was that the Flynn guy? I don't really know…I mean, I only saw Stormie get as far as that hill place…what the hell was that place called? And aren't there supposed to be two more people joining this group? I think I remember seeing a dog, too. What are their names again? I really hate not being able to know this stuff-

"_Would you _please _stop your mindless rambling? It's giving me a headache."_

It takes _every_ ounce of my willpower _not_ to jump and scream bloody murder. That would confuse the hell out of the other two people in the room. My sudden shock and sense of 'oh-god-im-gonna-pass-out' are immediately replaced by annoyance. I am _seriously_ getting tired of hearing Demetri's random voice out of nowhere, now that I know that it's him. Where the hell is he, anyways? I want to give him the tongue lashing I couldn't give earlier.

"_It's not my fault you're an utterly clueless idiot."_, I hear him say from…wherever the hell he is. _"Like I mentioned before, I'm connected your subconscious. It would be wise to speak to me through your thoughts, unless you want to look mentally unstable."_

"_You could have mentioned that fact earlier!"_ I seeth inside my mind (hm, weird). _"Why the hell did you kick me out of my own mind, anyways? We weren't done talking!"_

"_The other two had been trying to rouse you during our short conversation. I had to wake you up so you could continue on with them."_

"_You seriously think I'm gonna do that?"_ I retort. _"No thanks. I really don't feel like becoming a freakin' self-insert."_

I hear Demitri sigh in my mind. _"Unfortunately, I believe you have no other choice. You are going to have to travel with them in order to survive here."_

I look over to the others again. Yuri's finally managed to fit the door back into the doorframe, and he's now trying to fix the hinges. Estellise is still standing to the side, watching Yuri work.

I look away. _"I don't think so. If this place is anything like Tales of Symphonia, then I'll probably just end up dying anyways. _No_ thank you."_

"_Regardless of that,"_ Demerti says in his echo-ey voice,_ "You're only hope for actually _staying_ alive is by staying with them. Frankly, you have no other choice."_

"…_I hate you."_

"_Hmph."_

* * *

><p>Hm'kay. Time for some updates.<p>

Well, after my mind chat with Demitri (which I still think was kind of weird), Yuri was able to fix the stupid door. When he did that, we were finally able to get on our way out of here. Luckily, we didn't run into any more knights in the gigantic hallways, so we didn't have to knock anyone out. I was actually wondering where the hell they had gone, because…aren't they supposed to be guarding the place?

We soon figured out that they had another problem on their hands then guarding the hallways.

One of the hallways we went down led to some sort of balcony area, and we had a perfect view of the floor below us. Which was in a total state of chaos, by the way. Seriously, there were knights running around _everywhere _down there. They actually made a small dust cloud, they were running around so much.

"Jeez, they're running around like headless chickens down there." I remark, bending the upper half of my body over the chest high railing. I'm not really worrying about the knights below seeing me, because they're _obviously_ occupied with something else right now.

"I wonder if this is because of those guys earlier." I hear Yuri comment. He's doing the same thing I am, except for the whole 'bending-over-the-railing' thing. Estellise is just standing next to him. "They better not try to pin this on me, too."

"I hope no one was hurt…" The pink-haired girl mumbles, a worried look on her face. I look over to the two, and see Yuri wave a hand in the air.

"Don't worry about the Knights. They'll make sure to protect themselves."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "If they can protect themselves so well, then how were we able to knock them out so easily earlier?"

Yuri opens his mouth to respond, but is interrupted by a sudden shout from below.

"Yuri Lowel! Where are you hiding?"

I face Yuri, a confused look on my face. "Um…who's that?"

He sighs in response, staring down at the chaos below. "That must be Leblanc. I'd recognize those dulcet tones anywhere." Hm…I'm guessing that Leblanc is one of those knights down there. It kind of worries me that he knows him, though…it really does.

I see Estellise look over at the swordsman. "Do the two of you know each other?"

"We've had a bit of a history." Okay, now I'm officially worried. Anyways, Yuri looks over to the other side of the balcony. "…Come on, let's hurry."

I huff as he starts walking away, and pull myself off the balcony to follow. However, I'm interrupted by Estellise tripping and falling to the ground. As I go to help her up, I notice that Yuri stopped walking, and is now looking down at her.

"We should do something about your clothes." He says, putting a hand to his hip. "You'll stick out like a sore thumb." Here, I have to agree with him. I mean, walking around, trying to escape a castle, in a dress? It's just not practical.

"My room is just up ahead." She replies as I help her up. When she's standing fully, she continues. "I have a change of clothes there…"

"Okay, that'll work." I roll my eyes at the swordsman's response, but just as I'm about to comment, he walks away. Therefore, I am forced to follow, along with Estellise.

I peer down at the chaos below as we walk, just for entertainment purposes. I almost burst out laughing when I see two knights run into each other, possibly from not paying attention to where they're going. Or maybe it's just really hard to see through that big dust cloud they have going on down there. Makes me wonder if they ever dust in this place.

"_It's irritating listening to your random train of thoughts."_

"_Nice to know you're still up there." _I shoot back in my head. _"You've been quiet for a while now."_

"_I see no point in babbling random nonsense to entertain you. You seem to do that yourself."_

"_Oh, haha." _I reply. Silence fills my mind (really weird), and then I think of something. _"Hey, can I ask you something?"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Well, I was just wondering…"_ I start, think for a second, then continue. _"You said that you were the one that brought me here, right?_

"_Yes." _Jeez, he's talkative.

"_How is that possible?" _This question has been killing me since I heard him say that. _"I mean, it's impossible for a _normal_ person to do that. How can a spirit do it? Not to mention that this place is supposed to be entirely fictional."_

I hear a deep sigh in my head. _"Must I answer this _now_? You seem to be occupied at the moment."_

"_All we're doing is walking down a hallway." _I retort. Because really, all we're doing is walking down another long hallway. As I've been talking to Demitri, I've been careful to pay attention to where I'm going, because I tend to walk into shit when I don't. _"And _yes_, you need to answer it now. You brought me here, so I think I deserve a bit of an explanation."_

Another long sigh. _"Fine. I'm not going to say this twice, so you better listen the first time."_

Silence as I wait for him to begin, after which I head another short sigh.

"_As I've said, I am a spirit, which means I could be described as a 'mythical being' by your human standards. All spirits have a certain 'elemental' attribute that is their source of power. Mine is electricity." _

"_So, you control stuff like lightning and electrical power?"_ I ask. That's pretty cool, now that I think about it.

"_Yes, now don't interrupt me." _Meh. _"Since I have power over electricity, hat means I can take control on anything that runs on it, such as the technology in a human household. I managed to take control of that contraption of yours, and I brought you into this world by using my power."_

"_Contraption?"_

"_Yes, that…console, or whatever you humans call it."_

"…_the Xbox?"_ I ask slowly. He can control electrical stuff, and yet he has no idea what it's called? Kind of weird.

"_Yes…that."_ he replies.

"_So basically, you took control of my Xbox 360, used your freaky powers on it, and used it to transport me into the fictional world inside my game disk." _A pause. _"…Yeah, that sounds _completely_ logical." _The return of my sarcasm. Welcome it dearly.

"_How else do you explain you being here? That is the only logical explanation that I can give you."_

"…_It still makes no sense." _I grumble in my head. _"But I guess I'm gonna have to accept it, because I can't think of any _other_ way I might have gotten here! And I still have no idea _why_ you brought me here!"_

"_I told you, I can't tell you yet."_

"_Can't you just give me a hint?"_

"_I'm beginning to lose my patience with you."_

"_Well, _excuse_ me for trying to be informed!" _I yell in my mind, and I swear that I can feel my eyebrow twitch in annoyance. _"You just randomly decided to drop me here for a reason I don't know, and it's starting to piss me off!"_

"Are you alright, Cassandra?"

"Wha-" I'm startled out of my mind argument by Estellise's voice. I didn't know she was walking right next to me, and she's giving me a weird look. "Uh…yeah. Why?"

"You had a strange look on your face. I was wondering if something was bothering you."

"Oh." Note to self: keep my face neutral when I talk to Demitri. "Sorry, I was just arguing with myself."

She stares, then nods at me. "Okay then, Cassandra. Sorry to bother you."

"It's okay, really." I reply, waving a hand. "And please, just call me Cassie. It's really weird for me when people call me by my full name."

"Oh! Sorry." She says, and she sort of bows her head. "I'll try to remember that."

I nod at her, then look straight ahead. _"We'll finish this conversation later."_

"_Hmph."_

One way or another, I'm gonna get some answers out of this guy. I swear.

* * *

><p>*is exhausted after writing on and off for 6 hours, and pissed off at this sloppy chapter that she just wrote*<p>

Jezzus, that took me _forever_. I kept getting stuck and getting distracted by pretty much _everything._ I hope it was worth it for you guys, though. If it's not, well…sorry.

For anyone who wants to know, or just because I _want_ to, here's a play list of music that I listen to when I write this shit:

*Paperthin Hymn = Anberlin

*One Reason = Fade

*I am Taken Away = Origa

*Karasu = One OK Rock

*Katayoku no Tori = Shikata Akiko

*Madness of Duke Venomania = Gakupo VOCALOID

*Breathe = Gakupo VOCALOID

*Hades = Gakupo VOCALOID

*Bad Apple! (Orchestra Edition) = *on Youtube* Synthesia

*Overdose Delusion = SH2 Original Soundtrack

So…there's that.

**Next Time:**** Talking in the Hallways.**


	5. Talking and Angel Statues

Wow, hey, look. I actually updated.

HUZZAH.

Yeeeeaaaaah, sorry that this one took so long. For this one, there are…multiple reasons that I didn't update for a while. Main one was that I would write the chapter in my head for an hour, then open the document and BRAIN FART NOOOOO. 'Bout a while ago, I finally sat down and started to make progress on this thing.

And then my mom surprised me by getting Minecraft for me.

Which I've been wanting for…like…6 months.

AND THUS MY ATTENTION WAS DIVERTED ONCE AGAIN! HOHOHOHOHO-er…enough of that.

Btw, sorry guys, but I didn't get to when they get out of the castle yet. BUT THEY WILL GET OUT FOR SURE NEXT CHAPTER, I PROMISE!

Now, before this author note gets too long, lets get to answering the reviews! *confetti*

JudeMaxwell:

Hm…never gotten a review in morse code before. Which makes it EVEN MORE SPECIAL. Thanks for your input! :D

Lupanri:

I thank you for saying so. I've basically been working my ass off to make this into something that's _not_ a pile of poo, so it's rewarding when people say stuff like that.

Truth be told, I never had _any_ intentions to play this game when my sister got it. After she was playing for a while, I started to watch her play the game, and I got hooked pretty quickly. I am actually pretty clueless about half of the game, though, because I've only gotten as far as…Zaude in my game. Fantastic failing right there.

Angelic:

Don't see how his name is really that complicated. And trust me, after a while, you'll see a little hidden side to his personality (heehee)

I suppose I could have framed that part better too…although, I was writing that bit at about 1 in the morning, so I guess at that point, I didn't really care about how it was framed. Honestly can't remember.

Sylph Writer:

Glad you enjoyed that little bit. :D

It is actually kind of weird and fun to see things from other people's perspectives. You _neeeeeeeveeer_ know what people will come up with! Believe me, I've heard enough weird stuff to last me a lifetime. :x

Now STOP. CHAPTER TIME. *doo-doo-doo-doo. Doo-doo. Doo-doo!*

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING AT ALLLLLLL~**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Talking and Angel Statues<strong>

"This is my room. I'll go get changed, just give me a minute."

"Got it. Try to be quick about it."

"Y'know, it's _kind_ of hard to speed change out of a dress. I would know."

"We still need to hurry."

"I'll…change as fast as I can."

_Click._

I sigh and cross my arms, staring at the now closed door. "Well, now what?" I look over to Yuri, who's standing to my right. "Do we just wait here, or…"

He just shrugs. "It's not like we have much of a choice."

"Yeah, but…It's not really smart to just stand in the middle of the hallway." I reply, looking down said hallway. "Anyone could come along and see us. I don't know about you, but I really don't feel like being thrown in a prison cell again." I look back to him, but something stops me. "…What are you dong?"

Apparently, when I was talking, Yuri decided to ignore me and start walking towards the door Estellise went through. He gets to the front of the door, but before he can do anything else, the door opens again, and Estellise pokes her head out. As she does I see her grab at a sword that…I didn't notice she put there. Frankly, I didn't even notice she was carrying a sword with her.

"Just in case." She says, and I notice her eyeing Yuri cautiously.

Yuri turns around, scoffing, and looks back at her over his shoulder. "…It's not like I was going to peek."

I see her raise an eyebrow. "Flynn _did_ tell me to be careful if I ever met you." And with that, she closes the door again, taking the sword with her.

After a second, Yuri sighs, and leans against the doorframe. "Thanks, Flynn."

"Y'know, I need to meet this Flynn guy you two keep talking about." I say, catching his attention. "He sounds like quite a guy."

He chuckles a bit at my statement. "I don't know where you got _that_ from."

I roll my eyes, walking over to his side of the hallway. "Well, from what I can tell, he seems like a nice person. At least from what you've said about him." I lean against the other side of the door, holding the sword across my chest. "Of course, I _could_ be wrong."

"No, I think you've hit the nail on the head." Pause. "Of course, I could probably do without him saying bad stuff about me."

I snort at that, looking over to him. "Well, you _were _in a jail cell a couple of hours ago. That could make some people question your character a bit."

He raises an eyebrow. "I could say the same thing about you." True, true. He looks away. "Speaking of which, how did _you_ end up in jail? You don't really seem like someone that causes trouble."

Oooh, bad question.

I look away from him, and favor staring at a chip in the stone floor. To be honest, I still don't know exactly _why_ I ended up in jail, so…I don't really know what to tell him. Last thing I remember is…um…slamming into something, I believe. Into _what_, I have no idea. The only _clear_ thing I remember is when I heard that weird noise from downstairs. Don't know what that was, though.

"_Do you have any part in me being thrown in jail, by any chance?"_ I ask Demitri in my mind. I mean, he _is_ the one that brought me here, sooo…

"_Not important right now."_ he replies. _"You can tell him anything you want, as long as it's not Earth related."_

"_What? Why?"_

"_We can't have them knowing where you came from at the moment. So for now, just keep it to yourself."_

Well then. That doesn't really help much. I mean, I just met this guy…I can't exactly tell him _everything_. That would be too weird. But…it's _true_ that I have no idea of how I got here…sort of. I know _who_ got me here, and sort of _how_…I just don't know _why_.

After a little while, I just shrug at the dark-haired man. "I have no clue."

I feel his eyes on me instantly. "…What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said." I reply. "I have no idea. I don't even know how I got here, to be honest."

He raises an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

"Iiii'd rather save that until _after_ we get out of the castle." I drop my bag, which was starting to hurt my shoulder, to the floor. I sit down next to it, and continue. "It's a pretty confusing explanation, to tell the truth. I don't even understand most of it." I gesture to the sword in my hand. "I don't even know how this thing got with my stuff."

"Why? Isn't it yours?"

"Eh…sorta." When he keeps looking at me, I continue. "It belongs to my parents. It's a sword they got from somewhere they visited once." They actually got it from Japan, but I leave that out of my explanation. Yuri wouldn't know what I was talking about. "Usually, we keep in on a pedestal in our living room, but somehow it got with my stuff. Don't know why though…I mean, I don't even know how to _use_ a sword."

"You…don't?" He gives me an incredulous look.

"Ehh-no." Pause." "I mean…I've…messed around with it before…but I've never actually used it. And the last time I did that, I ended up whacking my sister in the face with it by accident."

He snorts. "You're not serious."

"The dent in the scabbard does not lie." I reply blandly, pointing out said dent. "The point is, I really have no idea why I'm here, or how I got here, to be honest." Half-truth. I already figured out how I'm here to begin with. "And to be frank, I really don't know where this. There aren't any castles near my town, last I checked."

"Is that so?"

"Yup."

"You must be from really far away, then." Oh the _irony_ of that statement. I just nod.

"Guess so."

Wow, really short sentences. _What_ a conversation we're having.

Suddenly, the door between us opens, and I look over to see Estellise come out…wearing a new dress. This one is white and pink, with gold trimming, that kind of reminds me of a flower at the bottom. She's got white boots and gloves to go along with the outfit, along with some black-ish leggings. It's still frilly and all…just more practical.

After she closes the doors, she does this little spin, showing off her new outfit. She sort of frowns when we don't respond.

"What?" She asks, looking a little confused. "Do…do I look strange?"

Yuri looks the other way. "…It's nothing. I was just thinking this doesn't suit you either."

She looks to the floor. "Really?"

"I think it looks fine." I speak up, gaining their attention. I'm still on the ground here. "I mean, it looks more practical then the other one."

They don't say anything. Then, Estellise moves toward Yuri, stops in front of him, and…sticks her hand out. He just kind of stares at her hand for a minute, then looks at her face.

"What's this?"

"A handshake." She replies, "It means, 'nice to meet you.'"

Yuri stares at her for a little more, looks to her hand again, then places his hand in hers with a look of bemusement. At this point, I am holding back laughter at the fact that he didn't know what a handshake was. Don't people usually learn that in elementary school?

"_This is a different world. And he knows what a handshake is, you nitwit."_

"_Quiet, you."_

Yuri drops his hand, looking back down the hallway. "All right. Let's get going."

Estellise grins. "Thanks!"

"Back to sneaking…" I mutter under my breath. They don't hear, as they're already walking away. I stand up to follow them, picking up my bag as I do…huh? I look at my bag in confusion, moving it up and down.

Why the heck does it feel lighter?

"Hey, you coming?" I look up to see the other two a few feet away. Yuri's giving me a look of amusement.

"Uh-yeah! Sorry." I give my bag one final look, then sling it over my shoulder again, catching up to them. Okay, now I _know_ something's up. My bag _definitely _wasn't this light before. The hell happened?

"'_Ey, Demitri."_ I say in my head. _"Did you do something to my bag? It feels way too light now."_

Silence.

"_Don't ignore me, spirit dude! What the hell did you do with my bag?"_

"_Nothing major." _he says finally. I hear something creaking. _"I simply re-arranged some things"_

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_You'll find that most of the stuff you came here with is no longer in your bag, first of all."_

"_WHAT?" _I try to keep my face neutral on the outside, but on the inside, I'm seething. _"You _took_ my stuff?"_

"_Only the things that would make you seem suspicious." _he replies, keeping his voice neutral. _"You cannot simply carry around textbooks and other literature that describe things not from this world. I merely took the items that might give you away."_

"…_If you took away my MP3 player, so help me God-"_

"_That item can be easily concealed, as can anything _else_ you keep in your pockets."_ He replies, sounding irritated._ "I merely emptied out your bag. I also gave you some things that will help you start out in this world."_

"…_Like what?"_

"_Supplies, mostly." _I hear some papers shuffling around (what the hell is he doing..?). _"Some extra clothes, items you might need, and some of this worlds money…I believe they call it Gald, right?"_

"_I think so…"_ That's what they call it in the other Tales games, so I'm gonna say that it's the same here. _"What kind of items did you give me?"_

"_I believe that it should be the same as the other…um, games." _A pause. _"That _is_ what they're called, right?"_

"_You know, for an electrical spirit, you aren't all that smart."_

"_Be quiet."_

"_Bleh."_

* * *

><p><em><span>On The Run<span>_

_Estellise: Yuri, you were a knight once, right?_

_Yuri: Didn't you already say you heard about me from Flynn?_

_Estellise:…Well, it's just…you don't seem to know your way around the castle very well…*gasp*…Are you an imposter?_

_Yuri: …That's some imagination you have. Why would I want to impersonate a regular guy from the lower quarter?_

_Estellise: …I-I guess you're right…_

_Yuri: Come on, let's get out of here before we're caught by the castle guards._

* * *

><p><em><span>Spirit Talk<span>_

_Cassie: So, Demitri…you gonna tell me why you brought me here yet?_

_Demitri: I believe I have already told you _many times_ that I can't._

_Cassie: …Still don't see why, though…_

_Demitri: If you don't have anything else to say to me, then I suggest you pay attention to what's going on around you._

_Cassie: Hey, _you're_ the one who's acting all mysterious and stuff! I just want to get some answers._

_Demitri: …I think I should let you know that you are being left behind._

_Cassie: …Eh?_

_Demitri: I suggest you catch up while you can._

_Cassie: Agh! Crap!_

_Demitri: …Must you _always_ act so idiotic?_

* * *

><p><em><span>The Intruder, Zagi<span>_

_Estellise: Are there many people outside the castle like that man Zagi we met earlier? _

_Yuri: Nah, he's one of a kind. It's hard to find anyone that nuts._

_Estellise: I see. Well, that's a relief. I don't know what I'd do if everyone behaved like that…_

_Cassie: Well, if it were me, I'd lock myself in my house all the time. Or arm myself with some sort of blunt metal object._

_Yuri: Yeah, life would be pretty rough if the world were full of guys like him._

_Cassie: So everyone would have weird tye-dye hair?_

_Yuri: …What?_

_Cassie: …Never mind._

* * *

><p>"This must be it."<p>

"Is there something special about this statue?"

"It's supposed to have some sort of secret."

"…Where the heck did you hear something like that?"

"Not important right now."

Currently, our small group is standing in another large room that connects with the hallways. It pretty much looks exactly the same as the room where those knights started chasing me. Same wall decorations, same pots in the four corners of the room…pretty much the same, except for the object that we're now crowded around.

In the center of the room, there's this large statue of a woman sitting on a pedestal. The statue is made from some sort of crystal…kind of like diamonds, except with a blue-ish tint to it. I think it looks pretty, especially with the wings that are attached to the figures' back. Makes it look like an angel.

Apparently, according to Yuri, there's something special about this statue. can't see what, though…looks just like a normal sculpture. What could be so special about it?

Estellise begins to walk around the side of it, examining the statue. "It doesn't look like there's anything particularly secretive about it…" Hey, way to voice my thoughts! Glad to see I'm not the only one thinking that.

"Mabye if we moved it, there'd be a hidden passage or something." Yuri states, waving a hand in the air. I just roll my eyes.

"Way to think positive." I say, gaining there attention. I point to the statue. "But…why the heck would there be a random passage under an angel statue?"

"You don't think…" I turn my head to Estellise, and see her staring at the statue, a look of deep thought on her face. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Yuri move towards the statue.

"Well, we won't know unless we give it a try."

Oh, joy.

As Estellise and I watch, Yuri begins examining the pedestal the statue is on. After a little bit, he grabs onto the rim of the top of it, and pulls on it. I have no idea why he did that…until the statue begins to move. As I watch, astonished, Yuri pulls on the statue- with _one_ hand, I might add- and slowly reveals a square-ish hole underneath the statue, about the same size as the pedestal.

Now I'm wondering how the hell that thing stayed above the hole.

Next to me, Estellise gasps, covering her hands with her mouth. "It really worked!"

I see Yuri peer around the side of the statue. "Well, what do we have here?" He raises an eyebrow. "Looks like the old man was right…"

I look at him. "…Old man?" He just waves me off.

"Do you think this will lead us outside?" Estellise asks, peering down the square hole in the floor. I take a closer look, and I see a metal ladder leading down to…somewhere.

Yuri moves around the statue towards us, keeping his eyes on the hole. "I can't guarantee it." He stops just short of the girl in white. "Well, I'm going down. How about you?"

She gets this hesitant look, continuing to stare at the hole, then it's replaced by a determined look, turning to face Yuri.

"…I'm coming too."

Yuri places a hand on his hip. "That's pretty brave of you." He turns to me. "What about you?"

I raise an eyebrow. "What, and let myself get thrown in jail again? I'm not letting some hole get in my way." As I talk, I take the sash around the scabbard of my sword and unwind it, tying it-along with the sword-onto one of the belt loops on my peacoat. I then give him a thumbs-up with my now free hand. "Ready when you are."

"All right, then." He smirks a little at my expression, then looks away for a bit. Then, he walks past Estellise and I, heading towards the hole. Estellise and I begin to follow him, until the pink-haired girl suddenly grabs his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

He gives her a look. "What is it? Did you change your mind?"

She shakes her head. "No, your hand…it's injured." Huh? "Let me take a look at it." I'm confused for a second, until I look down and see a large cut across his palm. Ooh, that had to hurt…did he do that when he was pulling the statue?

What happens next suprises me. Estellise closes her eyes, a look of intense concentration on her face. Suddenly, a bright glyph appears below her feet, little orbs of light floating up from it. I see a symbol of sorts appear behind her for a second, before little streams of light spreads from her hand and into Yuri's, a loud chime sounding.

I'm stunned for about half a second, before I see something catch Yuri's attention, and watch as he grabs Estellise's wrist, looking at something on her glove. She yanks her hand out of his grip with a gasp.

He suddenly looks embarrassed. "Hey, I'm sorry. I'd…never seen a blastia like that." …Blastia? "I-I wasn't thinking."

She gives him an apprehensive look. "…That's really all it was?"

He looks at her again. "That's really all it was. My hand feels better…Thanks."

She blushes. "…No. It's the least I could do."

"Okay, let's go." He looks at me, then. "You coming?"

I snap back to reality. "O-oh, right!" I begin to follow them towards the hole in the ground, thinking about what just happened. It looks like whatever Estellise did healed Yuri…I'm guessing it was this places' version of a First Aid. It looked a lot different from Symphonia's version, though…and what the hell is a blastia? Is it like, this worlds' version of an Exsphere?

I gotta stop referencing games here.

I realize that Estellise has already gone down the ladder now, and that I've been left all by my lonesome in the giant room. I shake my head at my obliviousness for a second, then begin to climb my way down the ladder.

Looks like I have some questions for Demitri later…

* * *

><p><em><span>Blastia and Magic<span>_

_Cassie: 'Ey, Demitri. I have a question for you._

_Demitri: Shouldn't you be concentrating on climbing down that ladder?_

_Cassie: Yeah, well, this is kind of important._

_Demitri: …What is it?_

_Cassie: What the heck is a blastia? Yuri mentioned it earlier, and I'm curious._

_Demitri: Yes, I heard your thoughts, earlier._

_Cassie: Then I don't need to explain. Now spill._

_Demitri: …Blastia's are pieces of technology this world uses, sort of like those…Exspheres you mentioned. The people on this world use them for magical purposes, and to protect their cities and work machinery. They have other purposes too, but those are the main uses._

_Cassie:…So basically, you can use them to make you stronger in battle?_

_Demitri: With certain types, yes. From the information I've gathered, both of your companions have one. You should ask them instead of me._

_Cassie: …So if I get one…would I be able to use magic?_

_Demitri: You never stay on one topic long, do you?…But yes, you most likely could._

_Cassie: Sweet!_

_Demitri: …*sigh*_

* * *

><p>Aaaaaaannd done. Wheeeeeeeeee.<p>

Hopefully, I won't take so long to do the next chapter. I probably will though, because of LIFE and DISTRACTIONS and the INTERNET. Aaaaaaagh.

Until then, here's another play list for you guys!

White Rabbit = Egypt Central

Iron = Woodkid

Impossible = Anberlin

Not Strong Enough = Apocalyptica feat. Doug Robb

Every Lie = My Darkest Days

Stratosphere = Hatsune Miku

Saihate = Hatsune Miku

**Next Time: OH GOD WHAT IS THAT AWFUL SMELL  
><strong>


	6. SEEEEEEWER

I really fail at keeping deadlines. I'M SORRY.

Yes, so _yet again_, I release another chapter late. There is only one excuse I can give though…

Assassin's Creed binge.

Hit me hard.

But then it snowed the other day, which reminded me of this…so yeah. Here it is. :D

Now then: REVIEWS!

Kenegi:

Yes, you _would _think that. Unfortunately, she's not all that smart when it comes to _not_ annoying people.

And we will get to her glasses when the time comes for it. XD

Angelic:

I think I could have done better with that bit too, but I had a brain fart at the end of that last chapter, and that was the best I could come up with. :/

Glad that you liked the rest of it, though!

Sylph Writer:

None of the Tales games feel right without skits. It's like…a tradition to have them. XD

Trying to put another fighting scene in here, so I hope I don't completely botch that up. Watch me fail at it anyways. :

**Disclaimer: You should know by now that I don't own anything. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: SEEEEEEEWER<strong>

I knew I wouldn't like this place the minute I smelled it.

Now, when we last left off, I was climbing down the 'Ladder of Doom' after Yuri and Estellise. Everything was all fine and dandy for a little bit (except for my occasional slips…where I almost made the other two go deaf from my screaming)…but then I got about halfway down.

And the _smell_ hit me.

Now, imagine that smell you get when you pass by a skunk in your car. That nice, horrible smell that fills up the inside for a bit that makes you want to gag. Go ahead, remember it well. Got it?

Add some rotten milk and diaper to that. And multiply it by two.

That's a pretty good description of what it smelled like.

The other two were lucky that I just ended up gagging, and not falling right off that damn ladder, it was THAT bad.

The rest of the way down said ladder involved me cursing under my breath, and slowly making my way down it while holding my nose closed with one hand. Hence the going down so slowly. Having only one had was really difficult, especially when it started getting darker the further down we went, but I was _not_ willing to smell that horrendous stench the whole way.

Finally, the square box the hole had made around me disappeared, and dim light made it possible to see again. When I looked around, I immediately saw the source of the awful stench. The passageway had led us to some sort of sewer underneath the castle, complete with really dim lights and passages filled with rank water. I saw Yuri and Estellise waiting for me at the bottom, so I hurried down the rest of the way.

And then epically failed at that, as I ended up falling off the ladder about a few feet from the ground, slamming onto my butt on the concrete below.

"Ow." I mutter, which sounds kind of weird due to me plugging my nose up. I see Estellise offer me a hand, which I take gratefully. I see Yuri looking at me funny when I'm standing upright, so I give him a look. He just shrugs, then turns towards the path we're on now.

"Looks like that tunnel lead us to the underground sewer…how nice." I notice the hint if sarcasm in his voice.

I scoff. "Yeah, not really _nice_, if you ask me. It smells like _ass_ down here." I get a weird look from Estellise from my remark, but it looks like she's not doing good, herself. She's got her hand covering her mouth and nose.

"I…have to agree." she says through her hand. "I had no idea some place could smell this bad…"

It looks like Yuri's about to reply, but is stopped by…something moving in front of him. I peer my head around him to see what it was…

…Is that supposed to be a rat?

I think it is…but it looks kind of weird. It round, like a ball, with a long pink tail swishing around behind it. In the dim light, I can see its' beady eyes staring at us, reddish in color. It hisses at us, but it's not so intimidating, seeing as it's bouncing up and down. Just makes it look silly.

I see Yuri draw his sword (which I totally forgot about), casting its' sheath to one side. "So there are monsters down here too…"

…Monsters?

Estellise lowers her hand next to me. "…Monsters…That's what these things are?"

"They just look like rats, to me." I glance at it again. "…Albeit, really _weird_ rats." Yuri looks at both of us.

"You mean you guys have never seen one before?" He raises an eyebrow. Estellise blushes.

"Uh…ummm…" She's interrupted when the rat…thing hisses again, and starts coming towards us.

"…Well, let's hurry up and take care of this, shall we?" Yuri says, and he steels himself, staring down the little creature in front of us.

"Wait," I say, realizing what he just said, "We're gonna fight that thing? It doesn't look all _that_ dangerous." I'd say we'd have to worry if they're were, like, ten of them. Not just this one puny thing.

And as karma is a crazy bitch, as soon as that thought left my mind, Estellise gasps, and points to the right of me. "Yuri, they're coming from the front, too!"

And sure enough, when I turn to look, I see about…seven pairs of beady eyes staring back at us. Counting the little nasty we had at the start, that makes eight of these guys. All of them,_ somehow_, looking malicious.

Hate my life right now.

I hear Yuri make some sort of 'ugh' noise, and I see him staring at the new pack. "This is annoying."

And then , just to make things worse, they swarm us. _All at once._

Me being the wuss I am, I immediately yelp and backpedal like hell as one of them jumps at my face. It misses, thank god, but it's now staring at me from it's place on the floor, looking very much like a rabid beach ball. And looking scary at the same time.

"_Demitri, what do I do?"_ I shout in my head, trying my best not to freak out and run. _"This thing looks like it wants to eat my face!"_

"_Draw your sword, you idiot!"_ he replies angrily, _"That's what it's _there_ for!"_

"_I'm not even gonna _consider_ doing that!" _I scream back, dodging yet another one of those things by doing a face plant. _"I don't even know how to use it!"_

"_If you don't want to die in this place, then you're gonna have to learn, and now's probably the best time to start!"_

I contemplate that for a second…before making a half-annoyed, half-panicky sound, getting to my feet, and clumsily drawing the sword that is still tied to my side. I point it in what I _think_ is a threatening way at the rat monster, waiting for it to do something. Somehow, it looks a lot more wary to approach me with the sword out.

However, I only seem to achieve pissing it off more, as it then hisses and jumps at my face again. It doesn't get far, though, as I end up panicking again and smack it through the air with the flat end of the sword. It goes flying, and just barely misses hitting Yuri in the head (oops). He doesn't notice, though, as he's beating off a couple of other rats.

I hear more hissing at me feet, and see that I now have two of the little devils to deal with. However, since I know next to _nothing_ about using a sword (as I've mentioned to Demitri at _least_ twice), I start randomly swinging the thing at the monsters like I'm trying to hit a golf ball.

However, in this case, the golf ball is two little furry balls with sharp teeth.

"_Don't do that, you idiot!" _screams Demitri in my head, _"You'll damage the blade that way! Swing it the right way!"_

I completely ignore him though, as I scream again when I end up actually _hitting_ one of them with the sharp end of my blade. It ends up effectively impaling the monster's side with a loud _squelch_, and blood sprays onto the sewer floor.

"Ewewewew_eeeeeew_!" I shriek, violently shaking my sword in a vain attempt to dislodge the (now dead) rat from the blade. The other little freak is trying to bite my feet at the same time, so as I'm doing this, I'm hopping from one foot to the other to prevent being nibbled on.

I'm pretty sure I look ridiculous.

Finally, the dead rat flings off of my blade, and without bothering to looks where it landed, I kick the other one away from my feet, and, when it leaps at me again, whack it with the flat side of the sword. It goes flying, landing in some of the sewage water with a comical _splash_ sound.

After that, I look around for a couple of seconds, seeing how many more there are…only to see that there aren't any. Seems that while I was flailing like a madwoman, Yuri and Estelle had managed to take care of the rest of them, and were watching me take care of my own group.

Which is why they are now staring at me with weird looks.

Cue my entire face turning red in embarrassment.

"…That should take care of it." Yuri says after a moment, and after sparing me one more look, goes to look for his sword sheath…which for some reason, he tossed to the side before the battle started. I take the opportunity to quickly (and clumsily) put my own blade back in it's sheath, almost cutting myself in the process.

"Do they, um, always attack in groups like that?" I ask, my face still slightly red. I frown outwardly when I hear Demitri snort in my head. I tell him to shut up, then look back to Yuri, who is still trying to find his sheath.

"I was thinking the same thing, actually." Estellise says, doing the same as me and looking at our third companion. "I didn't know what to do when they all attacked at once."

"You generally have to defeat each monster one by one," replies Yuri, not looking in our direction, "But sometimes they come in groups."

"Really?" Estellise puts a hand to her chin for a moment, before nodding to herself. "We should be more careful when we go ahead, then."

"No kidding." I mutter, half to myself. I'm not heard by the other two, and Yuri continues with his little explanation.

"You can take on a monster one at a time, or take them on in a group. Your choice." He stops for a second, then crouches down next to a small crate near the edge of the walkway. When he stands up again, he's holding his sheath, and proceeds to replace his sword.

"Um, Yuri." Estellise pipes up, gaining his attention. "Which way should we go?" She points down the walkway, and as I look, I see that farther down, it splits off into different directions, all leading to further areas.

Yuri looks for a second, then shrugs. "Whichever. Let's just get out of here."

"Ditto to that." I say aloud. I get a strange look from Estellise, then we both follow Yuri, who had started on without us.

Just as we leave the area, I take one last look back to the monster corpses we left behind. I give an involuntary shudder, then quickly follow behind the other two.

At least my mind's off the horrible smell now.

* * *

><p><em><span>Flynn - Part 1<span>_

_Yuri: Have you and Flynn known each other a long time?_

_Estellise: Umm…Two, maybe three years…? Something like that…_

_Yuri: Huh…So he's been getting along all right in the castle?_

_Estellise: Flynn is a very hard-working and honest knight. It seems like everyone trusts him. The other day, he told me that they've been giving him more responsibility lately, too._

_Yuri: Hard-working and honest. Right. In other words, hard-headed and obsessive._

_Estellise: Hmm?_

* * *

><p><em><span>Be Thankful to Strangers<span>_

_Estellise: I really need to thank whoever told you about this underground passage._

_Yuri: Why would you need to be thankful for something like that?_

_Estellise: I'm trying to get out of the castle, same as you._

_Yuri: That's all well and good…but there's no need to be thankful because of it._

_Estellise: Oh no. We must show courtesy to those who show us kindness._

_Cassie: I'm gonna agree with Estellise here…though they could have told us of a place that didn't smell so bad._

_Yuri: Sort of weird to be polite to someone you've never met, don't you think?_

_Cassie: …Not really, no._

_Estellise: Manners are never so important as when dealing with those whom we have yet to be acquainted._

_Yuri: You really think so, huh?_

_Estellise: I know so._

_Cassie: Yep. You can be impolite with people _after_ you get to know them._

_Estellise: …That isn't right either!_

* * *

><p>I'm gonna kill whoever thought it was a good idea to put large crates in an underground sewer.<p>

Since our fight with the rat monsters, our little group has been traveling farther down the walkways of the sewer…which was smelling worse the farther we went, I might add. And there was a _lot_ of stuff further in too. Apparently, the people of wherever-we-are have just decided to throw the most _random crap_ down their toilets, because there's a whole bunch of random stuff down here. At one point we were stopped because there was a table in our way (the hell…?).

However, the object that's causing us the most trouble is the one previously mentioned above.

I have absolutely _no idea_ why, but for some reason, somebody decided to leave massive crates all over the walkways. I don't know what they're fillled with, or why they're even in a _sewer_ to begin with, but they're taller than I am, and about twice as heavy. And due to their size, we couldn't just walk around them, and we couldn't see over them to let us know if we were going the right way.

So our only option was to push them around and see where they lead.

"This is…friggin'…_ridiculous._" I gasp, putting all my strength at pushing forward the box I'm currently working on. Due to the sheer number of crates down here, we all decided to split up into three of the largest walkways and see where they took us. So far, on my path, I've managed to push about three crates out of the way (rather difficultly), and now I'm working on the fourth.

Which, for whatever reason, seems to be bigger and heavier than the others.

I guess it's just life fucking with me again.

"_Quit complaining and put your back into it. You're not gonna get out of here quicker, otherwise."_

"_Easy… for _you_ to say!"_ I retort in my head, now digging my heels into the floor in order to push the crate. _"You aren't the one…doing the heavy lifting here!"_

He scoffs, but otherwise remains silent. One achievement, I suppose.

I let out a small yelp when the box behind me suddenly lurches, causing me to fall flat on my back, but not before my head slams into the side of the crate. I'm then left on the ground clutching my head, uttering a few choice swear words.

Sudden sense of déjà vu.

After a few seconds of that, something suddenly catches my eye. It's hard for me to make it out at first, since I'm looking at it upside down, but after a while I finally see what it is.

A ladder. Leading up to a square plate in the ceiling.

"Hey, guys." I call out, rolling onto my stomach as I do. "I think I found something."

"And what would that be?" Yuri's voice comes from my right somewhere.

"I'm preeeetty sure it's a way out." I call back, pulling myself all the way onto my feet, then proceed to walk over to the ladder, looking it over. "You might wanna come over here to make sure."

"On it." This is followed by a loud scraping noise, which I guess is him pushing a box out if the way. While I wait for him (and possibly Estellise), I continue to look over the ladder.

It looks about the same as the ladder that led us down here, just a more blue-ish color. It doesn't look slimy at all, so that's a plus. I'm guessing that the plate up there is about the same as a manhole cover, so I'm gonna assume that this leads somewhere outside.

"_Wow, _brilliant_ deduction there. I'm pretty sure a five year old could figure that out."_

"_Oh, shut up."_ Before he can retort, I hear footsteps behind me, and suddenly Yuri appears by my side, Estellise right behind him. He looks over the ladder for a second, before nodding.

"This looks like the way out." he says, confirming my theory. He looks over to me. "Good work finding it."

I shrug. "It was just dumb luck. Don't get used to it." He gives me a half shrug, before starting up the ladder, motioning Estellise and I to follow.*

I let Estellise go ahead of me so I can grab my bag off the floor (I dropped it when I was pushing the crates), then run back and follow them up the ladder, being careful not to let my bag strap snag on anything.

When I'm about halfway up the ladder, I hear a large scraping noise above me, and when I look up, I see that Yuri's fiddling around with the large plate. This continues for a second, then suddenly, light appears at one of the sides, effectively blinding me and causing me to shut my eyes. The noise continues for a few more seconds as the light grows stronger, then stops. I slowly open my eyes, and see that the plate has now been replaced by a hole showing a blue sky, slightly obscured as Yuri climbs out of the hole. I follow Estellise up the rest of the way, and we all finally emerge from the sewer.

Yuri helps me out of the opening, and when I'm standing upright, I get a look around. It seems the hole led us to a courtyard just outside of the castle, and judging by the bright sky, I'd say it's morning by now. I see that the hole we just came out of wasn't covered by a plate, but by some sort of statue…that actually looks similar to the one covering the opening leading _into _the sewer.

I have no idea why I noticed that.

"Man, it's bright." I hear Yuri say, and I see him looking up at the sky. He sighs. "It's already morning. I wasted an entire night." Even though I have no idea what he's talking about, I pay attention to him as he looks around. "Looks like it led to the Royal Quarter."

"…_Royal Quarter?"_ I ask Demitri. I could just ask Yuri, but I don't want to look stupid.

"_It's what they call the rich district of this city, Zaphias. Please try and remember that."_

"_Yeah, yeah."_ I tune back in to the other two. Estellise is looking around at every thing, kind of like I was, with a sort of amazed expression.

"Everything looks so different from the windows of the castle." she says, and I notice slight awe in her voice. I raise an eyebrow. Has she never been out of that place, or something?

Yuri seems to read my mind, turning to Estellise. "Aw c'mon. You sound like this is your first time out of the castle."

I see her blush at this, and then starts fiddling with her fingers. "…Um, well, I…"

The swordsman spares her a glance, then shrugs. "I guess a lady who lives in a castle can't just take a walk outside whenever she wants." He gives a little grin, then holds a hand up towards her. "Well, hey, at least we made it out of the castle."

She walks over to Yuri, and gives his hand a confised look. After a second, she just…gives his palm a little poke. I have no idea why she did that, as I'm pretty sure he was looking for a high five, but Yuri doesn't seem to mind. He just chuckles a bit.

Estellise lowers her hand as I hold back my own giggles. "Um. Was that not right?"

"Nah…" he replies, and I can tell he's holding back a laugh. "It's fine." He shakes his head a bit, then continues. "So Estellise, what are you gonna do now that you're out?"

She gives him a determined look. "I'm going to find Flynn."

Yuri raises an eyebrow. "Do you know where he went?"

"The other day, he said he was going off on a knight's pilgrimage."

"Ooh, that thing." Yuri puts a hand on his hip. "Going around the cities of the empire piling up good deeds?"

Estellise nods. "Yes. That's why I'm going to the City of Blossoms, Halure. Halure is the first place that the knights traditionally visit on a pilgrimage."

"_I don't understand a thing they're saying, Demitri."_

"_Just _listen_, you nitwit."_

I listen back in as Yuri puts a hand to his chin. "So you'll need to go outside the barrier."

"Have you ever been outside the barrier?" Estellise asks him.

"_Demitri, what the _hell _are they talking about?"_

"_Ugh. Look up!"_

I do as he asks, ignoring the other two for a moment. I don't know why I'm doing this…until I see a _giant glowing ring _above my head. As I watch it, I see some weird letters of sorts spinning around inside the ring, though I have no idea what they say.

"…_What is that?"_ I ask Demitri, staring at it in awe.

"That_ is what they call a barrier. It's what protect the cities in this world from roaming monsters. It's made by a type of one of those blastia things they have here."_

"_So it's like a force field of sorts?" _Pause. _"Cool."_

"Hey, you coming?"

"Whu-" I snap out of my daze to see Yuri and Estellise standing a distance away, staring at me. It seems that they had started going ahead of me, but noticed that I wasn't following.

Cue me blushing again. "Uh…sorry. I'm coming." I run to catch up with them as we walk into the city.

"_Try not to get lost along the way, will you? We don't need any more trouble."_

Fuck you, Demitri.

* * *

><p>Wheeeeeeeee, DONE.<p>

I thought that was a kind of weird way to end a chapter, but well…couldn't think of anything else. XD

Christmas break is coming up soon, so I maaaaay just get a chapter up much sooner next time! YAY.

'Nother random play list time!:

*This Is Gonna Hurt - Sixx.A.M

*Monster - Skillet

*Awake and Alive - Skillet

*Burn - Papa Roach

*All the Same - Sick Puppies

*Ezio's Family - Assassin's Creed II Soundtrack

*Venice Rooftops - Assassin's Creed II Soundtrack

Snuck some AC in there. I will stop doing these sooner or later.

Also, gonna go back and edit the chapters because of some stupid mistakes. Let me know if there are any in here that I missed so I can fix them too.

**Forgot to add this, but I finally have a pic of Demitri up in my deviantART! Go see for yourself! Just remove the spaces first. (if it doesn't work, just check out the link to my homepage.)

**htt p:/ natsu kiayaka. dev iant art. com/ art/O C-Dem itri-2 731 953 11**

**Next time: OH SHIT GIANT STAMPEDE OF PEOPLE AAAAAAAAAA**


	7. The Grand City of Zaphias

CHRIST ON A CRACKER I AM SO SORRY

ITS ALMOST BEEN A FUCKING YEAR SINCE I'VE UPDATED

IM NOT EVEN GONNA BOTHER WITH REVIEWS JUST READ THE FUCKING CHAPTER

I AM SO SORRY

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN JUST GO READ JKDSNFJHDNGKJFD**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: The Grand City of Zaphias<strong>

This city is fucking huge.

No, really, it is.

I could just be saying this due to the massive amount of walking we've been doing so far, _through_ said city. But usually when you do a lot of walking through a place, it's because it's very large, so I'm going to keep that statement.

For quite a while, we were walking through what they call the Noble Quarter, which is where all the rich people stay, apparently. Of course, you would be able to tell anyways, as everyone there was wearing these ultra-fancy clothes. Including these disgustingly fancy dresses that made me want to barf.

Along the way, we happened to pass by the castle that we were just in. It was then where I was actually able to see the sheer _size_ of the thing. Obviously, I hadn't seen the full extent of the castle when I was in it.

I was also surprised to notice a giant, sword-like spike, jutting up into the sky. It was about as tall as the castle itself…possibly larger. And I noticed that those rings I saw earlier were centered around it. When I asked, Demitri explained to me that it was the barrier blastia that protected the city.

Of course, it was after that noble trek that I met up with my current problem.

Stairs.

Apparently this city is built sort of like a giant pyramid/cone, with the castle at the top of the formation. So in order to get _anywhere_ else in the city, you need to climb down these massive stairs placed all around the city…which are _incredibly_ long.

And with _no_ rails so you don't fall down them at any point.

So you can imagine why I am practically _glued_ to the wall as I'm walking down. I think you've read far enough to realize that I am a massive klutz, and would have fallen down those stairs in three seconds otherwise.

"Just how long are these stairs?" I call out, so my companions can hear me, still clinging to the wall as I walk. My voice is kind of squeaky from how scared I am. "Honestly, it's been like twenty minutes already!"

"_Relax_, will you?" Yuri replies, sounding slightly amused. I throw a glare at his back really quick, as he's ahead of me (along with Estellise), and then go back to concentrating at my feet. "We're almost there. And there really isn't that many stairs left…which you would know if you would actually look where you're _going._"

"Yyyyeah, _not_ gonna do that." I reply, still staring at my feet. "If I look up, then I'm gonna trip and fall down these damn stairs. And if _that _happens, since you two are right in front of me, I'll end up crashing into _you_ two on my way down. And I _don't_ think you want that."

"Yeah, I don't. But it doesn't matter since we're at the bottom now."

"Huh?" I stop walking at this, and when I look up, sure enough, Yuri and Estellise are at the bottom of the giant staircase. Up ahead, I can tell there's a giant marketplace, as I can see some shop stalls and people yelling out prices for things.

My face goes red for the third time today. "Uh…yeah. I knew that."

"'Course you did." He doesn't comment further.

After I slink off the stairs, all embarrassed-like, we begin heading away from the market place area, past a small little shop around the corner. I take a second to look around the area, and I'm stunned by the architecture of the buildings. It kind of reminds me of a city from the Renaissance.

I'm marvel at the impressive water features lining the walkway (it's like mini rivers), when I notice we're heading towards a walkway leading…somewhere else. I'm guessing it's this Lower Quarter Yuri's been wanting to get to so bad.

However, before we manage to reach the area, we're stopped by someone calling out.

"You there, fugitive! Halt, I say!"

"The jig is up!"

Oh goodie, more trouble.

The three of us turn around to see a trio of knights at the foot of the staircase we just got off of. One of them is wearing a different uniform than the knights I've been seeing recently, so I'm gonna take a guess and say he's the leader of the trio.

The other two, though…oh dear lord. They're wearing the regular outfit that I've been seeing, but they look so ridiculous it's not even funny. One is tall and gangly, with a pair of bulbous lips and a strange mustache. The other looks like an Oopma Loompa, except without the orange.

Either way, they're knights. With weapons. Which means trouble for us.

The one in the red uniform starts yelling at the silly pair. "Fooools! Enough grandstanding - arrest him!" I recognize his voice as the knight who shouted Yuri's name in the castle.

Hm. Small world.

Estellise backs behind Yuri a bit, along with me, staring at the knights. "Wh-what should we do?"

Without even looking back to her, he kneels to the ground for a second, and I see him pick something up. He tosses it around in his hand a bit as he stares down the knights in front of us.

"First you pick up one of these…"

The two weird ones begin to charge towards us, and Yuri throws his arm back.

"Then go like this!"

His arm makes a sharp _zip_ as he throws his makeshift weapons, and I see they're some pretty good sized rocks. They whiz through the air in a high arc…before whacking both of the charging knights in the heads.

They go down instantly.

I stare at the fallen knights, gaping. "What th- Why did you do that?!" I turn to look at Yuri…only to see he's not there. Neither is Estellise. It takes a second of me turning my head to see them running towards the Lower Quarter. "Hey!"

"Hurry up!" Yuri yells back, not even turning around to look at me as they disappear down the slope. I stand there for a second, before running after them.

I skid to a halt at the top of the slope, though. Why would I do that when there are some knights about to chase us, you ask?

Because there aren't any stairs this time. Just a long…flat…slope of stone.

With no railing.

"…Aw _hell_ no."

* * *

><p>My butt hurts.<p>

To _explain _the random statement above, I finally managed to will myself down the path to the Lower Quarter when I saw those knights starting to get up. I didn't do so badly, until about halfway down, where I…fell on my butt. And since it was a slope, I ended up, uh…_sliding_ the rest of the way down.

You get the idea.

"Ow." I groan, finally coming to a stop. I'm sort of crumpled up at the bottom of the path from that. My bag is sprawled on the ground in front of me, as it fell off my shoulder when I fell on my ass. The sword is still tied to my side, though, and it now uncomfortably stabbing me in my hip with the hilt.

Fun.

"Um…" I look up from my position on the ground to see Estellise standing over me, a worried expression on her face. "Are you all right, Cassie?"

"Super." I mumble back, pulling myself up onto my knees. "Nothing like a tumble down a slope to wake you up, right?"

She looks confused at my statement, and I snort. "It was sarcasm, Estellise. I'm fine."

"Well now, who's _this_ young lady?"

I startle slightly at the voice, and I turn in its direction. A foot or two away, Yuri stands next to an old man, who I'm guessing is who just spoke up. He's currently giving me an inquisitive look.

"Uh…Cassie." I reply after a second, and I glance over to Yuri for a second, to see an amused look on his face. I scowl at him, and then turn my gaze back to the old man. "Nice to meet you."

He nods, then turns his head to look at Yuri. "Well, _you're_ certainly popular with the ladies today, it seems."

Yuri just half-shrugs at him.

"Er, anyways," The old man starts, walking back towards Yuri. "About those Imperial Knights…"

As they begin to converse, I dust myself off and begin to pick up my things off the ground. Some of the stuff Demitri gave me fell out of my bag when it dropped to the ground, mainly little bags of stuff and some odd looking clothes. I tune in to their conversation as I pick up a small jingling sack (possibly a money bag).

"They've been so busy looking for you, they haven't paid any attention to our fiasco down here." The man says to Yuri.

Fiasco? Stopping for a second, I look around to see what he's talking about. I notice that there's a bunch of soggy looking sandbags piled around what looks like a fountain. No water is coming from it, so I'm assuming it's broken. I guess it flooded or something.

I glance back to the pair, and I see the old man giving Yuri a stern look. "So you've really managed to tick them off, huh?"

"It looks that way." The swordsman replies. I go back to picking up my things, still listening. "Has Repede come back yet?"

"Sure did. And he was carrying some bag with him."

"What happened to it?"

"It should be up in your room."

"Go pick it up later. Give it a shake. It has a nice ring to it." A pause. "Mordio liked it too."

"So you met Mr. Mordio!" He sounds surprised.

Obviously, this conversation isn't getting anywhere. I don't understand anything their talking about. Sighing under my breath, I pick up the last of my things, stuffing them haphazardly into my bag.

Just as I'm about to snap the claps on the bag, though, the old man says something that grabs my attention again.

"…don't think those knights will be too concerned about you right now, though. Something much more interesting's got their attention."

"Oh really?" Yuri's tone is neutral. "What could be possibly be more interesting than me?"

"What, you didn't see it?" He sounds surprised. "Some giant comet fell right into the Middle Quarter!"

That stops me dead.

"…Giant comet?" Yuri sounds weirded out. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I saw the whole thing when I was up there doing errands." A new voice. I glance out of the corner of my eye to see a young man walk up to the pair. He gestures with his hand. "This big…comet-like thing just fell out of the sky and landed right in the middle of the place. Freaked everyone out!"

Heart racing, I sling my bag over my shoulder and stand up, walking over to Estellise as inconspicuously as possible. This sounds frighteningly familiar to me…

I notice Yuri cross his arms. "How do I know you're not making this up?"

"Now that you mention it…" Estellise perks up. I look to her, and I see a look of deep thought on her face. "I remember seeing something like that outside my window…"

I'm trying my best not to panic now.

"And that's not the most exciting part!" The boy speaks up again. "When all the smoke went away, there was a _person_ where the comet landed!"

"DEMITRI._"_

"_I hear them."_

Yuri has a stunned look on his face. "A…person?"

"Yeah, yeah." The boy responds eagerly. "I wasn't close enough to see, but I'm pretty sure that it was a girl. The Knights were freaking out!"

"_Demetri, I am going to _murder_ you."_ I seethe. _"You _dropped_ me there, didn't you?!"_

"…_Unfortunetly, yes."_

I'm just about to rip him a new one in my head when Yuri glances at me. It only lasts for a second, but the blank expression on his face makes my blood run cold. I look away.

I regret telling him what happened now.

"…Really." Yuri's tone is disturbingly neutral. "Does anyone know where this girl is now?"

"I'm pretty sure the Knights took her up to the castle." The boy nods. "Probably threw her in the dungeon or something. Hey, did you happen to see someone like that down there? I heard about what happened yesterday."

Demetri, you are going to die. Slowly and painfully.

"So." I blurt, steering myself away from the topic. I turn to Estellise, gaining her attention. "This is the Lower Quarter? Looks kind of…different than I imagined it."

"Hm? How so?" Estellise asks me, tilting her head slightly. I half-shrug.

"Eh, I guess I thought it would look…y'know, poorer than this. Given it's the poor district of this city." I give another glance around. "Actually, it seems pretty nice down here. Has its' own…sort of charm to it."

"Hmm…" Estellise looks around, then nods a bit. "I guess so."

I open my mouth to respond, but I notice something before I can get the words out. Keeping my eyes in its direction, I walk over to it.

What happened to catch my attention wasn't anything special. Just a sign hanging on the wall of a building. I would have probably just glanced over it, but something _on _the sign has caused me to investigate.

Normally, you would find letters or some shit on a sign, right? It's kind of their purpose.

Then how the hell do you explain why this sign has weird little symbols all over it?

"_Hey. Demitri." _I say to the spirit in my head. _"I know I'm pissed at you right now, but…what the heck are these little symbols all over this thing? I can't tell what they are."_

There's silence, then I hear him groan. _"Damn it, I forgot…why didn't I think of this before?"_

I feel a little bit of anxiety penetrate my mind. _"…Demitri? What are you talking about?"_

"_I probably should have mentioned this before, but…" _I hear a sigh. _"This world has a different writing system than where you're from."_

I freeze, and I swear to god, I feel my heart stop for a second.

"…What_."_

"…_You heard me."_

Pause.

…

"_Well _that's_ just FAN-friggin-TASTIC!" _I yell in my head, and I feel my face contort slightly in anger. _"How the fuck am I supposed to blend in this world if I can't friggin' _read_?!"_

"_No need to panic,"_ he replies, sounding exasperated. _"I'll simply translate everything for you until you learn to read the language."_

"_Did you even plan out _anything_ before bringing me here?"_ I groan slightly, both in my head and in the open. _"First you drop me right in the middle of this goddamn city, then _this_? Honestly, you seem to just be winging it here."_

"_I didn't have that much time to plan." _he replies, sounding a bit mad. _"And I don't have the patience for it."_

"_Ugh…" _I pause for a second, fiddling around with the hilt of the sword still tied to my side. _"Well…at least you planned far enough to get me a sword. Otherwise, I'd have to smack you."_

"…_What are you talking about?"_

That causes me to stop. _"…The sword? You got it for me from my house, right? At least, that's what I assumed…"_

"_I did no such thing. I thought you got that sword by yourself."_

Okay, this is confusing. _"…Then were you the one who opened my cell door?"_

"…_No." _I hear a creaking noise. _"Tell me _exactly_ what happened when you were in that dungeon."_

I feel a sort of nervousness course through me, but I tell him what happened when I woke up in the cell. I stop at the part when I got the sword, telling him about the note from "X".

There's a long, _long_ silence. I've only just begun to fidget before, just barely, I hear him murmur something to himself.

"_Dammit, Xerxes."_

Uh, what?

"…_Who's Xerxes?" _I ask, feeling even more nervous.

"_Nobody."_ he replies quickly. I hear a creaking noise again, as if he's getting up from a chair. _"I have to go somewhere. Try not to get yourself killed while I'm gone."_

"_Whoa-wait, you're _leaving_? What are you talking about?" _Silence. _"You're not really leaving me _alone_, are you?!"_

More silence.

…He actually left.

He _actually_ fucking _left_.

"Well that's _perfect._" I mumble, and I cross my arms over my chest, which I always seem to do when I'm annoyed. I stand there for a few seconds, staring at the un-intelligible sign, before sighing, turning around on my heel, and walking back over to the others. I manage to hear the rest of Yuri and the old man's conversation as I approach.

"…aren't thinking of following Mordio beyond the barrier, are ya?" The old man says, and I perk up when I hear the unfamiliar name. I have to start paying attention to what these guys say, seeing as I have no knowledge of this game's plot.

Yuri kind of waves a hand at him. "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it."

The man 'humph's, looking away. "Who's worried?" He shrugs. "It's a good opportunity for ya. No need for ya to hurry back here."

"Huh?" Yuri just kind of…looks at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"What I _mean_ is," the old man replies, crossing his arms, "we can get along just fine without you." He looks back to Yuri. "Even Flynn used to say, 'I wonder how long Yuri plans on living this life.'"

Ah, another mention of this Flynn guy. I begin to walk away as Yuri sighs, hanging his head a bit.

"Flynn needs to learn to mind his own business."

I make it back to Estellise as the pair finish up their conversation, and I stand next to her as we wait for Yuri. "We should be getting a move on. Those knights will probably be down here any minute."

By the looks of surprise on her face, I can see that she had forgotten. I turn to mention this to our swordsman, but to my surprise, he's already standing behind me.

"You're probably right. C'mon, let's go." Yuri says, motioning for us to follow. However, I notice him give me a look, sending a message to me silently.

_We'll talk later._

Eugh.

Giving a short sigh, I fall in behind him with Estellise, trying to think of possible excuses in my head. However, we're only able to get a few steps before a booming voice echoes across the plaza.

"Yuri Looowell! You've given my two lackeys a headache! Now be a good boy, and turn yourself iiiin!"

Oh look. The calvary has arrived.

"Well, that's our cue." Yuri exclaims. "Looks like I won't be coming back here for a while."

The old man chuckles a bit. "Never a dull moment with Yuri around!" A young girl runs up to him, looking excited for some reason. "After this, I'll be even with you for getting that money back!"

Suddenly, I notice a lot of the residents down here looking towards the lone knight…and looking veeeery prepared to fight. Uh-oh.

Yuri doesn't even look fazed. He simply gives the old man a stern look. "Just make sure you don't kick the bucket blowing it all on some crazy party!"

The man gives a short laugh. "Same to you. Make sure you don't go dyin' in any ditches."

With that, Yuri begins to run off. Startled, I begin to follow him, while Estellise hangs back for a second. After a short talk with the old man, she catches up to us. However, we're stopped short by the next sight we see.

As the knight comes running towards up, a massive crowd of people comes out of _nowhere_, swarming him in a massive mob. A flurry of statements rises up from the crowd.

"When are you gonna fix the fountain, sir Knight?!"

"Hey, cool, a knight!"

"Hooray! Hooray!"

"Won't you help this old man find his dentures?!"

…Okay, that one was a bit weird.

"Fooools!" The knight shouts, drowning in the sea of voices. "You're in my way! Do not interfere in the affairs of the empire!"

I hear Yuri chuckle to himself slightly. I look towards him, but do a double take when I see what's coming up from behind him.

Another massive mob. This one heading right for us.

I don't even have time for a "HO' SHIT'" moment before we're swept away by the massive crowd.

For a few minutes, there's nothing but a massive sea of people. My feet aren't even on the ground – I'm being carried - , and I'm being hit on all sides by random elbows and hands to the face. At one point, a flash of dark enters my vision, and I end up knocking into Yuri, before he's swallowed up again.

Then, suddenly, the mob vanished, and we're left standing on an empty street. I don't even have time to recover from the incident, though – Yuri grabs my upper arm and begins dragging me down the street until I can get my footing again.

We stop for a moment right at the end of the road, and Estellise and I both stop for a moment to catch our breath.

"Wow, Yuri…" Estellise begins, sounding a little breathless. "They're all going to miss you so much."

Yuri scoffs a bit. "Honestly, they're probably thrilled to finally get rid of me." He abruptly stops, a weird look coming over his face before reaching into his vest, pulling out a small bag. It jingles a bit as it swings in his hand.

"Hey, hold it!" Yuri exclaims, looking a little stunned. "Who put money in here?! I can't take this!"

Quickly, he begins to run back up the street, but abruptly stops. I only get a moment to wonder why before a familiar voice rings out.

"Haaalt! Get out of my way!"

Looks like our knight-friend escaped the mob. Yuri looks at the sack in his hand for a moment, murmuring something to himself, before sticking it back into his vest and running back around to us. Estellise and I follow quickly after, before another interruption stops us. This one a very loud _thump_, followed by what sounds like a bunch of metal pots clashing to the ground. I turn back to see what it is.

The knight is sprawled on the ground, looking stunned. In front of him, walking towards us casually…is a dog.

A dog with a metal chain around its' neck, a scar across its' eye, and a pipe in its' mouth.

…This world just keeps getting weirder.

"Nice one, Repede." Yuri says, looking down at the dog with a glint in his eye. The dog (Repede, I guess?) walks on a little further, past me, then plops himself down between Yuri and Estellise, looking up at the dark-haired man.

Estellise looks just as confused as I am. "A dog…?"

"Well, for now, it's north to Deidon Hold." Yuri completely ignores her question.

"What?" Estellise looks confused for a second, before realization hits her. "Oh, right."

"I'm not sure how long we'll be together…" Yuri starts, looking to the both of us, "But here's to the road ahead, Estelle. You too, Cassie."

…Hang on. Did he just-?

"Yes, I…huh?" Estellise seems to realize it just as I do. "…Est…elle? Estelle…Estelle." She works the name over her tounge a few times, before turning her attention back to Yuri, nodding. "To the road ahead, Yuri!"

I decide to add in, holding a hand in the air. "Same here!"

"Well," the swordsman sighs, turning one last time to the city behind him, "So long for now."

The newly-christened Estelle raises her hand like I did. "We hope to be back soon!"

"Hoo-rah." I chime in, fist bumping the air.

I linger back for a moment, taking one final look at the massive city in front of me. Then, nodding, I turn and run to catch up with the three, already ahead of me.

I guess this is where it all starts.

* * *

><p>…Okay, NOW I will put my usual long author's note.<p>

Good God, people, I am _so sorry_ this took so long. Combined with procrastination and laziness, I just…completely lost motivation for writing this story. However, I went ahead and got back to playing ToV again, and that did the trick for me, so…here I am. Again.

Lot of stuff has happened this past year. For starters, I've been older than my S.I now for a few months now! *sob* Seventeen years old, and STILL slacking on writing shit. I gotta pull myself together…

I've also written another S.I! If you guys have been paying attention to my profile, you'll notice that I've been updating that fic a bit more than this one. It's a ToS fic, so if you like Tales games and reading my stuff, then…go ahead and check that one out.

ALSO! Due to me gaining a lot of rage towards the title of this fic, I will be changing it! I honestly that this new title will be a lot funnier than the one up now. And it will be now known as…

**"Lousy Stupid Goddamn Spirits"!**

(can you saaaaaay 'Homestuck reference'? XD)

For anyone who wants to check out what I'm doing when I'm NOT slaving my butt over Microsoft Word, you can go check out my Tumblr! The link is on my profile, but if you're somehow too lazy to do that, then just google 'The Nameless Author'. It'll be the first link up there.

NOTE: Do you guys think that I should change the script format that I use for the skits in here? I changed that for my ToS fic because someone pointed out how weird it was, but I'm not sure how changing it here would work out…let me know in a review what you think.

**NEXT TIME: DEIDON HOLD FUCKING FINALLY**


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